More than half a millennia ago, in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, it was observed that “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts." It is this interconnectedness of Humanity: the human individual and that human’s encounters with the Other, that has most inspired and informed my work. It is a phenomena that transcends culture, ethnicity, language, place, and time. The bond between brothers, the love between mother and child, the kinship shared through creative endeavors; these run like threads in the great fabric of generations. What compels my artistic practice is the desire to convey that which I have found to be true in all of the countries I have traveled to, as well as here at home in New Mexico: that our commonalities as human beings far outweigh our differences.The “All the World’s a Stage” exhibition, brings a bit of the people, places, and genres, that have inspired me over the past few years, back to the (literal) stage of Taos, New Mexico— where I first began the large scale collage paintings comprised of post-consumer waste for which I am known. This exhibition is something of a “Process Show”— ie one that shares a window into how I arrive at a larger portrait or figurative painting through the development of ideas in travel journals, sketchbooks, nude figure drawings, preliminary drawings, and small collages. The selection of drawings represent a myriad of themes that evolved into large paintings or even series of works— themes such as Music, Dance, Feminine Empowerment, Direct Action. I have had the honor to show my large scale recycled works for over twenty years all over the world; however, I rarely have the chance to share my first love and the foundation from which all my other creative endeavors originate: Drawing.

My hope is that it will inspire you the Viewer—as you move brightly across your own Stage.