Artist's Statement

 

 

The two pillars that my life stands on have always been volunteerism and art. Throughout my life, and specifically during my continuous battle with homelessness, it was my dedication to both of these passions that guided me through enormous struggles.

 

I began to express myself by putting all of my emotions on paper at the young age of six; even at this age I was best able to communicate my feelings with crayons in my hand. I also gained an early appreciation for volunteering my time to better the lives of children; at the age of fifteen, I started donating my services to YEPT, a summer project benefiting needy children that was founded by John Lennon. These were two forces that would continue to motivate me throughout my life.

 

There were wonderful times in my life when I was a was able to rest well -- being and livelihood -- upon these two pillars; I lived happily for some time in Easton, Pennsylvania, working with teenagers on art projects based at Lafayette College's Williams Center of Arts, I was member of the Center of the Arts of Easton, a community of working artists including painters, sculptors, poets and photographers. I exhibited my work and maintained a simple life of painting and working with artistically-inclined youngsters during my time in Pennsylvania. 

 

There were also times in my life, difficult times, when all I wanted to do was paint. I couldn't or just wouldn't work as a carpenter's apprentice or a builder anymore. At certain times in my life I made the difficult choice to leave these paying jobs so that I could spend my days painting and creating; I used whatever materials I could find on the street. I managed to find some opportunity to display my work in Manhattan and Brooklyn. In New York I have presented my work with the Jonathan Shorr Gallery, the Ward-Nasse Gallery, the Reconstruct Art Gallery, Michael Gold Gallery, the Dumbo Museum Gallery, Reconstruct Art, and Greenhouse Gallery in SOHO, the Punch Lounge, and the AGIA National Design Center.

 

Recently I was able to combine my two passions into one fulfilling experience; I was  accepted into "The Children's Expressions Project Benefiting Children through Art." This two- part mission, organized by the Edwin Gould Services for Children and Families, brought foster care children to collaborate with us, the selected artists, on creating art work for a benefit whose proceeds went right to those foster care children painting with us. I continue to seek new opportunities to donate my services to the arts; most recently I volunteered my time to the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut. 

 

I know that if I continue to adhere to these two ideas, my life and my art will remain on the path of the new horizon of the future.