Born and reared in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I first expressed my creativity to a family outsider at the age of four, when I meowed at a librarian.
Through the years, I’ve explored many different creative mediums: piano and violin in the ’60s; stained glass, journalism, and photography in the ’70s and ’80s; creative writing, painting, and mixed-media art since the mid-’90s
I came late to drawing and painting because I believed that using an eraser constituted cheating — it was impossible to create anything that was perfect, so it was safer to do nothing at all.
That view changed when my ex-husband and I began making art in the mid-’90s. The two of us created art together until we parted in late 2001.
Then I put my paints away. From September 2003 until May 2008, the paints hardened and gathered dust as I focused my attention on the study of law.
Acting
I often draw upon my Greek heritage to make sense of the world and my acting roles. As an example: the Nine Muses. The Nine Muses played, sang, danced, and inspired others to do the same. Each Muse oversaw a particular field of human creation.
Of the Nine Muses, I identify most strongly with the versatility of Polymnia, who, depending upon the source, was the muse of sacred song, oratory, lyric, rhetoric, eloquence, and pantomime. The ancient Greeks believed that the artist did not himself “create” the work of art, but served as a mortal channel through which the muse’s divine voice could speak.
So, an epic poet would offer a prayer to the appropriate muse to guide and assist him (or her) in the creative endeavor. I sort of do the same.
