As an artist without borders, my work demonstrates how art can engage participants by activating new creative spaces. In November, I traveled to Austin, Texas, to present my interactive art at the Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA) conference. My presentation and workshop showed fellow artists how to connect with an audience through a collaborative…
Healing Imprint: This multi-media collage series embodies the history, suffering, and grief of our neighbors, while exploring cultural conflict in a new way. The scattered placement of random forms on the raw canvas portrays the disconnect. In life and in art, our personal narratives define us. But strangers’ stories also matter, because they are part…
Throughout 2020, we faced a pandemic with prolonged isolation. But the Yellow Ribbon project proved to be an important opportunity to help galvanize the West Michigan veteran community. Everyone appreciated the chance to be part of something bigger than themselves. While we learned new lessons about resilience, one of our Gulf War vets lost his…
This is America through the eyes of our beloved veterans, the true heroes of our time. So much joy comes from our wonderful members, even in the midst of the pandemic. We learn many things from them, as their perspectives have changed throughout their lives. In this work, they have been able to express themselves…
I’m very proud to be part of a heritage of four generations of military service—my grandpa, my dad, me, and my son. To me, service in the military opened up a new world, for both good and bad. I’m grateful for all the new things I learned as a U.S. Air Force medic, such as…
From 1963 to 1965, after graduating from the University of Michigan, I worked in the Army medical core as a urologist on Sandia base. The base, located on the edge of Albuquerque, New Mexico, produced and stored nuclear weapons. I also worked at Kirtland, which is the world’s largest storage for nuclear weapons. After the…
I want to leave the world a better place, but I’m not a writer. I can’t help a person feel good through a poem or a book. I do carve opal gemstones, though. If I am able to present an elegant art piece, the work might inspire others to feel good on the inside—and maybe…