It takes but a moment to change a life. And so it was when a family friend picked up a pebble from a gravel-covered road, placed it in my hand, and said the pink-colored rock was rose quartz. To an eight-year-old kid who knew nothing about rocks pink or otherwise, this smooth looking gem staring up at me was a big deal. That moment in time became my first geology lesson, that moment in time led to all kinds of rock hunts, and later that moment in time inspired me to create paintings of many rock formations. From early rock hunts to producing and exhibiting oil paintings of rock materials, it has been one amazing journey.

The “rose quartz” episode led the way to rock hunt adventures wherever I went: gravel-strewn pathways, roadside trenches, my own backyard, and later, coastal and mountainous areas. My earliest rock searches began in Orange County located in Upstate New York. Each year during spring thaw one could see the tips of boulders poking up through the softening earth, quietly confirming the approaching season of change. The possibility of "finding" rocks partially hidden underground and yet quite accessible challenged my interest and fortitude enough to start digging. As each rock tip appeared, the impacted soil surrounding it was cautiously cleared away unveiling that rock's unique character, so long concealed from view. Looking back on this project, no stone was left unturned on that property. Driven by wishful thinking and a fair amount of youthful determination, several seasons of "finding" and "digging" (and let's not forget "learning") yielded enough boulders of various shapes and sizes to grace the perimeters of two large patios! As for those boulders, the very acts of unearthing and transporting them to new locations gently marked the next phase in their continuing evolution. But maybe not for long. Given the possible effects of future events both natural and man-made, those boulders may at a later time end up in other earthen hideaways, sheltered again from the light of day.

Another Upstate New York rock hunt involved an unexpected encounter with a fossil as I sifted through mounds of soil left over from a nearby house repair. That piled up earth was a perfect setting for dislodging a rather large dirt-covered rock which to my surprise revealed tiny seashells etched into its surface. No doubt a magical moment of discovery, my young mind dreamed up all sorts of reasons why this mysterious link to the past looked the way it did. I wondered how shell-covered creatures once very much alive could become trapped forever on this fragment of another place and time. Equally puzzling to me was the type of force needed to displace that rock (and maybe other rocks) from what I assumed to be its prior moist environs to the dry mountainous terrain where I found it. Alas I never did learn more about my fossil’s origin and destiny. One could only begin to imagine how that fossil came to be. As for the fossil, it became a permanent part of my junior high school’s science display. As for the one who found the fossil, never again would she look at a rock without thinking about its history. Only time would tell where that rock came from, where it has been, where it may go.

Born in Brooklyn, New York and a longtime resident of Northern California, it was clear from the start that whatever directions I chose in life, art and its related disciplines would surely play a role in guiding my decisions. My formal art training began at Queens College, City University of New York (Bachelor of Arts) where I focused on oil painting and developed a style that extended through many series. At Pratt Institute, NY (Master of Science) I continued to expand my painting skills and studied photography. Photography led to new worlds of seeing and collecting ideas for my paintings. Awarded an NDEA Title IV Fellowship, I earned a Doctor of Education degree at New York University. As an Assistant Professor I taught Art Education courses at The College of New Jersey, Ewing Township, NJ and at San Jose State University, San Jose, CA. My paintings are included in public, private and corporate collections. They have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions at commercial and public galleries and museums in California and on the East Coast.

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