My inspiration isn ’ t the pain and suffering of mental illness . It ’ s about resiliency and resolution and finding joy and happiness . I draw inspiration from music and from family and the many wonderful memories I have of my fulfilling past and the path I have taken to get where I am now and from the response I get when people view and purchase my art and tell me how my art has affected them .
My art represents my journey in life . My first really big piece of art to sell was called Gakko II . Gakko means school in Japanese .
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Gakko II is a mixed media encaustic painting I did in black and white with pages from Japanese school books published in the 1800s , India ink calligraphy with the characters for peace , love and happiness , and fl o w i n g b l a c k m o v e m e n t s symbolizing struggles and joys of l e a r n i n g n e w t h i n g s a n d t h e happiness of fulfilling educational goals . Gakko II is now living with a retired teacher in Louisiana .
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