Art has become the quest “to know thy Self” and the answer. A career in clinical social work was my first exploration into understanding my self.  Since that did not reveal the depths of my soul, I delved into an intense and deliberate search for “enlightenment” through some of the great spiritual traditions. In 2003 on my first visit to Maui, I felt a literal inner command to move to Maui and leave career, marriage, home and many friends on the mainland. Trusting that inner voice, I obeyed, with no idea of what lay ahead. Never expecting to “become an artist” let alone “sell my art”, a series of serendipities opened the doors to that pursuit. Now I feel that my art has brought me home.  The relationship with the divine is not outside me but inside. This is revealed step by step in my creative process. As a piece unfolds, I look at it in all kinds of light over time, and slowly, it informs me of what it is as a reflection of my soul.

  At the end of the day, I place my painting on my dresser so it faces me as I awaken the next morning. In the progression of dawn’s light, I see with new eyes the symbolism and message it offers. A painting of coral --- frightens me as I place it on my dresser before retiring. Morning’s contemplation reveals that it is the skeleton form of death which I have feared since early childhood. I am now facing it and embracing it in a new light. I notice that the there is a bird shape on the forehead of this skeleton. It beckons towards transformation beyond an illusion of death. I feel the excitement of a challenge to depict how the facing of one’s fear opens the door to limitless possibilities.