The MUSE...

Everyone has highs and lows and though I know some that operate on a more even keel than others, some are so mercurial they set new inter-terrestrial standards! The path of the creative is one of euphoric inspiration balanced by the drudgery of actually bringing the idea to life...and then making that life self sustaining. I have an idea, and once that idea is born...I am not satisfied until I see it come to life. When I actually see it, feel it...a space I've composed, a piece of jewelry, writing, a coat or dress, a dish that came up out of an mix of textures and flavors...there is a brief moment of respite, "Ahhh,,, there it is." followed by..."How do I share it?" that is me...that is what drives me. I am not possessive of my creations,and the inspiration comes from a place within me that is for others to enjoy. And I do too. I need to be surrounded by balance in composition or I feel off kilter... my energy shifts and I'm out of sorts until the visual balance is right again.

I am a creative..and I am very fortunate to be a very left-brain, right brain creative. I have people( producers, stylists, lawyers) that work with a lot of 'artists'... and one said to me that I was such a pleasure to work with because I was SO normal.Most creatives live in their own world and can be very narcissistic and tempermental. I have often seen the briliant ones find themselves a partner who can carry the burden of a relationship, home life and routine while they are off in their own stratosphere- creating. I once read that artists are " messianic and utopic."In my case, that would be true.I want to change the wold to be a better place through my art... and I think that musicians, chefs, designers, writers, poets, painters all carry this muse...this drive... to put beauty into the world, because the universe gave them the gift, the ability to see, create and share a gift that enriches the world, which is why, "Creatives cannot be destroyers, and destroyers cannot be creatives."

There is the part of this process, where you need to be alone.The act of writing, the act of designing, painting...are solitary moments that then need the executioners...the agent, fellow musician, dressmaker, goldsmith...to bring them to life. When that transition happens, the process becomes collaborative -but at the genesis, the beginning -the artist is alone with that moment...with that process.. and that is why many don't deal with it well and turn to drink, drugs...something- anything- to placate and quiet the loneliness and solitude.Some want to create beauty because what they have known is ugliness; horror, abuse, sadness....and their souls need to create beauty to compensate for that part of their existence...that burden. It never ceases to amaze me the explosion of art that occurs in poor, economically deprived cultures...as though the human soul must compensate for the misery and darkness- the dirt- of life with beauty for balance.It is as necessary as breathing, as eating...as water.

I travel the world and where do masses of people congregate in every major city? What can they all share with a common experience regardless of race, color, gender, generation or creed? Art. The Louvre, The Prado, The Metropolitan are iconic places because they are archives of little bits of human soul on display..Every piece of art is physical evidence of a soul manifest.I say that the people flowing through the museums are "soul voyeurs."

When someone said to me" You can see the love in your work," I could not have been more touched. They saw "ME" in my work- my heart.. What an honor. Another man, another time looked and looked in the cases until turning and saying to me, "I have never seen jewelry with so much character." One of my first clients.. my very first show.. someone brought her to me. She spoke with me, looked over the collection and very soon chose something without much thought... and my pieces are not inexpensive. It was her comment that made sense of her actions, she said, " I have had some news today, that is not good. About my health. I think that your piece is going to help me."

How do I respond to these gifts that have been given to ME ? My work has touched people in a way that is very personal. My work is very personal.- their reaction to it is personal....so the symbioism begins.Where does my gift end and theirs begin? It doesn't -we're connected.It's all part of the same ebb and flow. We ARE...WE are...WE ARE... and my gift is that I have been fortunate to be given a plethora of abilities with which to create and share beauty with the world.

My gift, their gift, our gift...it's all there....for us.