A Beginning…

I’ve set up this section of the website to share my thoughts on art, my own art making, the creative process generally, and exhibitions, films, or performances I’ve seen. Perhaps other topics will come my way, too. For years, I’ve thought about writing. My professional life was consumed with my work in arts administration or teaching. While I relied heavily on my creative instincts to problem solve and innovate, much of the time I felt like a bureaucrat. Managing the urgency of achieving the goals of every fiscal year, left me little intellectual or creative energy to write. My ambition went untested. 

Untested is the accurate term here. Because intellectually I have liked the idea of investigating ideas by writing about them. But considered it with a healthy dose of trepidation. Will the reality of writing be too daunting? Will I have the energy and discipline to hone my ideas into a cogent and thoughtful piece on a regular basis? 

Another aspect I hope to explore in these pieces is to continue to reflect on the work that my colleagues and I did in serving artists and the community through McColl Center and Atlantic Center for the Arts. Having retired six years ago, I have the distance to consider the purpose, value, and challenges of directing and programming a contemporary art organization in the US. My 30-years of experience in the arts gives me lots to consider and potentially to write about.

Like working in any creative process, I’ll give it a try and see where it takes me. I find experiential learning is the most powerful. I expect I will discover much about myself in the process. Perhaps if you come with me, you will discover something new about yourself, too.