I am an oddball. And I am proud of it! It makes me who I am in so many ways as an artist, spiritually, and as a person in normal society.
What makes me an oddball? Besides my ADHD, my love and passion for the Arts and Music, my INCREDIBLE, goofy family, and my remarkably diverse interests, I am a hands-on learner. But I start out watching closely as the process being taught is done by the master who I am fortunate enough to be learning from because this person has spent years of their life honing this skill. Whether it be painting in Acrylics or hand-building in ceramics or looking through the lens of a camera and knowing what shutter speed to use for the moment being captured, I want to learn it all!
So, I have challenged myself to learn as much as I can about techniques in visual artistry to apply not only in my own artistic process, but to (eventually) teach the knowledge I gain to others, thus passing on artistic traditions from a rainbow of backgrounds, and so I explore. I love curiosity and seeing things others commonly overlook. I am slow in my processes in the beginning stages, studying carefully and always taking my time to test where limits stand with new materials and where I can push boundaries.
I enjoy feedback on my work because it tells me what others see as successes and failures in techniques that I am practicing that I might not see myself. I look for what beauty can be found in my failed projects to be carried on as a skill and learn why those projects fail so as not to repeat mistakes, and I do not scrap things easily.
I find this to be richly rewarding, and the friendships that are built during my learning process are irreplaceable. It is one of the most amazing things about being an artist: getting to know the intricately creative minds of great artists who inspire me on my journey!