aboutme

My father was a career Army officer, so I spent my life living and traveling around the world.  At a young age, I learned to recognize and appreciate fine art.  My mother would sit down with me and look through artists' picture books.  By the time I was 7 years old, I knew the Impressionists were my favorite painters.  While living in Germany, my mother took me to such places as the Louvre in France, the world’s largest flower garden at Keukenhof, Holland, and the famous woodcarvers’ shops in Oberammergau.  Each experience gave me insight into the beauty and process of creation.  

Upon graduation from college, I too entered the Army as an officer.  My travels and introduction to new art forms continued.  Assigned to Fort Lewis, Washington, I saw firsthand the glass blowers in the city of Tacoma, now home to the Chihuly Museum of Glass.  Deployed to Cuba, I was impressed by the pictures drawn by the Haitian refugee children. In Korea, I learned to appreciate Asian art and style.

As I continued my military career, my art education continued as well.  I visited Catherine the Great’s jewels and 50 Faberge eggs in the Armory at the Kremlin in Moscow.  The vast collection of traditional Russian icons was phenomenal at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.  In the Catherine Palace of Tsarskoe Selo near Saint Petersburg is a complete chamber decoration of amber panels backed with gold leaf and mirrors - "the Amber Room." Due to its singular beauty, it was sometimes dubbed the "Eighth Wonder of the World".  The glass and crystal in Prague kwas more breathtaking than I could ever imagine.  And the beads of Italy…what can I say.