Photo by Robert James

I read, and I don’t remember exactly where, that art is made in an invisible and private space that cannot be breached by others. (I spent a lot of time there.) And that the making of it is a response to the time and place we live in, expanding who we can be in the world. (My work may well be my diary.) Its richness and unnecessary beauty is the consolation sustaining us, the makers. (I get the richness, but I am still trying to grasp the “unnecessary” beauty.)

And so, too, do I take to heart the words of author Toni Morrison in a video, clipped into an article titled “The Radical Vision of Toni Morrison” by Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah of the New York Times Magazine, dated April 8, 2015. “I know how to write forever. I don’t think I could have happily stayed here in the world if I did not have a way of thinking about it, which is what writing is for me. It is control, nobody tells me what to do. It is mine, it is free, and it is a way of thinking. It is pure knowledge.”

Over the course of my adult life, while earning a living full-time and helping to raise my kids, Ahmad and Jihan, I periodically attended art classes. Many years back, on Saturdays, at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. In the early 80's, while living and working in New York, I went to the School of Visual Arts for evening classes, studying Lettering under Ed Benguiat. And, while in the Bay Area, I took extended education classes at the California College of Arts and Crafts, where I created and poured bronze sculptures. I also had fun and learned a lot at lesser-known facilities as well. At home, I drew a lot, used pen and ink, created logos, designed album covers, and other advertising materials. However, I was always a bit frustrated - as if something was missing. It was not until the early 90's that I turned to work in clay.

In 2004, shortly after moving to Texas, I was able to study sculpture full-time for a few years, taking classes at The Elizabet Ney Sculpture Center and the Austin Sculpture Academy. Lucky me! I then co-founded Atelier 3-D, and two years of hard work later, we had laid the foundation for a successful sculpture studio, offering a wide range of classes, on the East side of Austin.

But there were other ideas I wanted to carry out too. I relocated to Central Austin in 2011 and eventually opened "de stijl | PODIUM FOR ART", a workshop and gallery at 1004 and 1006 West 31st Street. Christina Coleman and Dameon Lester were instrumental in making this a success. I will post the exhibition catalogs here in the near future. At the moment, during the 2020 pandemic, I mainly reside and work in California, close to kids and grandkids.