Inspiration and art

Inspiration comes to artists in various ways and is expressed in a multitude of forms. So, what inspires me? As with countless other artists, spending time in nature fills me with a sense of awe and exhilaration, as if all my senses have awakened.

E.E. Cummings, in his poem, “i thank You God for most this amazing,” expresses something of what I experience. The opening lines read:

“i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes”

And the final lines read:

“(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)”

* * *

Family outings to mountains, deserts, and ocean beaches were highlights of my childhood and instilled in me a love of the outdoors. When I was old enough, I made time each summer for camping and backpacking trips and began to appreciate more deeply the beauty and complexity of the natural world.  And so, wanting to understand the natural world of which I was a part and the ecosystems I had come to love, I became a biologist.

Studying living systems at various levels of biological organization has greatly increased my appreciation of the complex and intricate ways in which organisms interact with one another. There is beauty in this that informs my art. Much of my research over the years required that I sit patiently at a microscope observing single-celled organisms as they glided gracefully, sinuously through the water. I found the changing shapes and movement and colors of microorganisms fascinating.

Look carefully and you might sense in my artwork the subtle influence of the natural world —an intimate and harmonious interaction of discreet elements, an organic and cohesive whole, a complex beauty.

Peace . . .