Technique is not antithetical to creativity. The imagination is opened once it acquires a vocabulary with which it can speak. I found that teaching is my vocation and where I have done some of my best creative work. Both teachers and students take risks that may expose their incompetency and for learning to occur this must take place in an environment of trust and mutual respect. I work to create this atmosphere in my classes.
Renaissance and Greek art are the pinnacles of artist expression. There have been no improvements on the depiction of the human form since. I have been greatly influenced by my travels to Italy every year looking at Renaissance work as part of my job teaching at the Aegean Center. I consider myself extremely fortunate to be able to see these masterpieces year after year as they have become a familiar part of my visual repertoire.
