xxxxAfter
attending the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, I received my B.F.A. in
painting from Drake University in 1978. I went on to the University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign where I received my M.F.A. in painting in 1981, as well as
the Ford Foundation Creative and Performing Arts Fellowship. Since 1981 I have
pursued a career as a full-time artist, muralist, lecturer and
curator.
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xxxxProfessional
mural work takes me to many sites around the country from Las Vegas
to Miami designing
and painting murals for various businesses and private clients. I have spent a
considerable amount of time doing decorative painting for the circus
and carnival
world. The documentation of this work and experiences working in
these art forms
provides me with a unique perspective on the everyday life and work processes
of these creative industries.
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xxxxMy
artwork has been featured in numerous gallery exhibitions and museum
shows, including
the Art Institute of Chicago, Krannert Art Museum at the University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign, Chicago's Cultural Center and the Huntsville Museum of Art in
Alabama. Examples of my work are included in many private and public
collections
that include the McDonald's Corporation in Oakbrook, Illinois, the Field Museum
of Natural History in Chicago, the Roger Brown Study Collection of the School
of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Krannert Museum and Kinkead Pavilion
in Champaign, Illinois.
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xxxxVisiting
artist and lecture duties have taken me to over twenty college and university
locales. As an artist-in-residence I've also worked in over seventy primary and
secondary schools, community centers, and museums. I have conducted specialized
residency programs at the Lakeview Museum in Peoria, the Rockford Art Museum,
and Bradford College in Bradford, Massachusetts.
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xxxxMy
experience of self-employment in alternative art fields provides students with
information about the organization of time between studio concerns,
documentation,
mailings, exhibitions and supplemented income from freelance art, murals, sign
painting, interior decorating, residencies, lectures, and workshops.
Through slide
presentations of paintings, sculptures, and installations, I try to
forge a link
between personal vision and my experiences in travels and alternative
art pursuits.
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xxxxAs
an artist, everyday life fuels my vision. This insight helps me experience the
interplay between career alternatives and studio interests. Through residencies
I strive to introduce young artists to some of the information and "hands
on" experience that made this vision come alive for me. Sharing
this experience
with others lays the groundwork for future artists and non-artists
alike, by introducing
processes for thinking, planning and exploring new techniques toward
the completion
of a large scale collaborative project.