strings attached . That ’ s where the “ gift ” part comes in . Hyde ’ s book lends artists encouragement to carry on despite what our circumstances dish out .
A YOUTH ON THE MOVE My Dad was a Navy pilot and as with most military families we moved around a lot , stationed in ports of call before being uprooted again . Moving was relatively easy for me . I welcomed the adventure of traveling to countries where they didn ’ t speak English , with different customs , languages and food . While in Japan my Mom taught English to Japanese students , and our parents took us to important landmarks including the Great Buddha in Kamakura , hot springs in Hokkaido and to Mt . Fuji . I ’ ve been influenced by Japanese art and design and have studied the work of the Yoshida family , especially the women who have been artists for four generations .
In college I majored in performance art , studying with
Eleanor Antin and
Allan Kaprow . The art program gave me a new perspective that I could use and broke open my preconceived notions of what art was and wasn ’ t . In 2001 , I opened a working artist space and gallery that provided a proving ground for a number of performances and a place for me to paint and show my work . Virginia Wolff ’ s theory written in A Room of One ’ s Own paid off for me until in 2009 when I closed the space and moved my hot palette to a home studio .
Headed West from East encaustic on panel . 24 x 24 inches . Private Collection . © 2010
Headed West from East II encaustic on panel , 24 x 24 inches . Private Collection . © 2010