How it all began…

 

So what am I to do?  In the spring of 2014, I participate in an alternative spring break program.  A teacher challenges me to motivate thirty prepubescent boys in, arguably, the most destitute section of one of our country’s most troubled cities, Detroit.

 

I knew I needed to strike a connection with these students.  I encouraged them to identify hobbies and activities that bring them joy. I told them how art and yoga bring happiness into my life.  I advised there is nothing to lose by striving for greatness.  I preached the power of positive thinking and the virtues of perseverance.

 

In the summer of 2015, I endured a one hundred mile hike.  It rained for several days and after suffering a badly fractured ankle on day two of the eleven-day adventure, I began to investigate parts of my psyche that were previously unexplored.  Self-realization of courage and persistence flooded my mind.  The refusal to quit, whether conscious or not, is a choice.  I have consistently chosen to see tasks to completion.  Here and now, I am making the conscious decision to never quit on a student.  Equally important, I vow to provide the necessary tools to my students so they do not quit on themselves.

 

I am deeply passionate about art and I am deeply invested in teaching today’s youth the transformative qualities art can have on an individual.  As an artist and a yogi, I explore, play, observe, and create.  I do not specialize in any one medium, but create what is calling to me in the moment.  I am moving in the direction of sustainable eco art.