What is Art all about?

I'm an artist. There, I've said it. I'm not "an emerging artist" or a "newbie artist" or anything else less than the real thing. It's taken me a while to come to this decision, but I realized that I really live when I'm making, practicing, teaching, talking about, or just enjoying art, so much so that everything I see can be described in artistic terms--colors, textures, smells, sounds, tastes--it's all there in everything, and art is everything, expressed in forms and media that are manipulatable and can capture thoughts and emotions, images and imaginings.
So, when I pick up some scraps of paper, or bits of junk from the ground, I see in them the potential to be more than what they are, but all that they are at the same time. When I pick up a paintbrush, pen, pencil or rubber stamp--the potential is there, too.

Collage is the thing I am busily exploring right now. It encompasses all the media I like the best--photography or printed images, painting, assemblage--a little sculpture, composition and playing with glue and acrylic medium. It's fun and very expressive, bringing things out of your inner being and onto the paper, celebrating the past by bringing old parts out new and fresh into the present whole.

Altered books are scary at first! What!? You want me to tear pages out of that book!? Don't people go to Library Hell for that!? Of course not! Old books that no one wants anymore, need to be reborn as something new and exciting. Rather than see them sit in a cellar rotting away or being eaten by mice and bookworms, I can tear, cut, fold, glue, paint and otherwise alter them into something really cool! And, there are places on the internet where I have found many other people who do the same thing, and are willing to swap pages with me! How cool is that? I now have over 2 dozen lovely, interesting, inspiring, intriguing works of art that I can tip-in to my altered book and make a new journal of contemporary art to enjoy for many years to come. I hope that my granddaughter will love them as much as I do!

What is your art? What inspires you?