Looking Back, Looking Forward

Looking back Just three years ago at this time I was looking forward to my solo exhibit at Dixie State University of Fifty Faces - large portraits of friends, family members, acquaintances and strangers who had agreed to sit for me. This exhibit called "Defacing Stigma" had been shown previously in March 2018 at Art Access Gallery in Salt Lake City, and although there wasn't enough room for all 50 of the portraits it was a wonderful experience and I made many new friends there. But now I am reminiscing about the Dixie State show and the memorable experience I had there. Many wonderful thoughts and feelings about mental illness and our desire to eradicate its stigmas were shared with me during that time. And I will never forget walking into the beautiful Sears Art Museum Gallery and seeing all the portraits hung together in that stunning space for the first time. The talents of art director Kathy Cieslewicz brought everything to life in ways I had not imagined. I will always feel grateful that she believed in me enough to show my work and champion our cause of raising awareness for the struggles of the mentally ill to thrive in our society without harmful judgements.

Now I am looking forward to another solo showing of these paintings (also photos and the video above) to be held at the Encinitas California City Gallery. It has been postponed twice due to the restrictions of Covid 19. I am scheduled now for some time in 2022 and I am keeping my fingers crossed that all will be well enough for the exhibit to take place. I promised to upload this video a long time ago and it is finally here. I hope it will touch your heart and help you feel empathy for the models of these portraits who bravely shared their personal experiences with me.