Exciting NEWS!
Denise's art is included in the book, Mosaic: Finding Your Own Voice written by Brit Hammer-Dijcks
For more information (including some page samples), visit: www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/324677 |
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About Denise:
My
passion for art was awakened around the age of 9; I attended an
art class every Saturday each summer through the age of 14. I
was taught the basics: sketching, oil painting, pastels, charcoal,
still life and portraiture by an inspiring, memorable teacher.
As maturity permitted, a short train ride into Philadelphia allowed
me to attend the Philadelphia College of Art. I acquired independence,
a taste of city life, but more importantly.new eyes. I believe
it was then that I began seeing not the ordinary, but the unique
possibilities within simplicity.
After
college and several years of traveling, I settled in California.
Pottery lured my interest and after 4 years of mastering the
wheel, clay and porcelain became my new best friends. Upon marrying
and then the birth of my son....art transitioned once more,
this time through a child's eyes: simplicity in form, with bold,
contrasting colors...as innocent and beautiful as a child. A
few years later, we migrated north and settled in Portland.
Life was sailing along smoothly until an early diagnosis of
breast cancer. Lights flashed, sirens screamed, treatments commenced
and realizations surfaced.
Therapy
for my soul and mind were found in mosaics. I had always admired
the media; my husband supported my interest and insisted I give
it a try. Self-taught through the help of books and friends'
advice, I became immersed.
Ten
years later, the passion to create and the desire to stay healthy
is joined in a marriage of determination. The direction of my
art is constantly in motion. The freedom that the media allows
is alarming: the reason I love it so. As Ralph Waldo Emerson
summarizes: "Artists must be sacrificed to their art. Like
bees, they must put their lives into the sting they give."
Bzzzzzzzzzzzz
Denise is
a member of the Society
of American Mosaic Artists and the Pacific Northwest Sculptors