I believe in critical and open dialogue between the Artist Instructor and the student. I am opposed to all rigid systems or approaches, "basic", "fundamental" or otherwise. The idea is to gain the understanding, discipline and freedom essential to the one particular individual, to gain aesthetic expression of utter distinction.

In this mixed-media class, exploration of non-traditional materials and unconventional use of traditional materials is encouraged. The standing premise in this class is that there are no fixed rules or ‘shoulds’ in the creative process. As art-making is an individually unique and personal endeavor, the starting point for instruction will be each individual student’s visual preferences and materials. In one-on-one conversations, students will be guided toward making those clear choices that will help them to gain focus and clarity of expression in their work. Materials, best practices, technical and archival issues relevant to created works will also be discussed. Class discussions, readings and demonstrations may occasionally take place. Note: This class takes place in the Mixed Media Room. Hand tools and power tools are available for student use. Students can expect a ‘tool-shop’ environment.

We will explore the issues central to Abstract Painting, such as nature, structure, geometry, the human form and master paintings as potential sources of investigation and inspiration. This class focuses on developing each artist’s inclination to make abstract art through a range of activities, studying in particular how to explore one’s inspiration and ideas vis-à-vis process and using a language specific to each artist to develop coherent abstract images.