Hold fast to dreams, For if dreams die. Life is a broken-winged bird, That cannot fly. ― Langston Hughes. In my teens I dreamed of a giant studio full of every art supply and tool I could possibly imagine. There would be a stone tower with wide windows looking out into the treetops and the […]
Life is either a great adventure or nothing -Helen Keller Everything in excess is opposed to nature. Hippocrates Even though Hippocrates would have been appalled and Ms. Keller would have been unable to see the bright lights or wild color displays of the fountains and glittery signs, Las Vegas is an astonishing place. Much of […]
Color is a power which directly influences the soul. Wassily Kandinsky Color has emotion. Are you feeling blue? Did you see red? Are you green with jealousy? These metaphors are not random. Blue? Have you ever sung the blues? During Picasso’s Blue Period he painted in a very subdued palette: blues, grays, pale […]
One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar. Helen Keller It’s been a long spring! Today we had snow AND hail AND sleet. These high desert spring days are completely unpredictable. Against all odds, Helen Keller chose to soar above her very challenging limitations. Scott Kelly chose to soar in […]
“Needless to say, urgings by ravens are ignored at one’s peril.” ― James D. Doss I never see ravens as ominous. They are an iridescent, graceful presence soaring in the sky or perched on a branch close to me. Nine separate species of ravens are found in the northern hemisphere. They are in the corvid […]
Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude. – AA Milne To all of you who backed the Aartz West Kickstarter, I can’t thank you enough! What does it take to create a Kickstarter campaign? If you check out their website they have […]
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow mindedness. – Mark Twain. I love to travel, especially when I can see new vistas and landscapes and LEARN new things! So my recent journey to Scottsdale, AZ, which took me through Winslow, AZ was perfect. I never tire of these vast southwestern horizons. The cloudscapes are […]
Kind of fun to look back at my very first blog post from the dead of winter in 2007… my artist’s philosophy. It was quite a while back that I made this declaration: I am an artist. I always said I would be one when I grew up. Thinking of the stages through which […]
The principle of true art is not to portray, but to evoke. Jerzy Kosinski Time… the creation of a bronze sculpture takes an immense amount of time, skill and dedication. It is not an endeavor to be undertaken without a great deal of care, commitment and, yes, love. You have to love what you do […]
Are you busy trying to plan your summer travels? Why not Santa Fe, NM in late June? There will be a fabulous opportunity to visit 68 artists in their studios. They’ll be sharing their creative processes and their finished work. I’m very pleased to be participating in Santa Fe Studio Tour 2015! This year there […]