This area is very supportive of artists.  Belonging to an organization of like minded individuals and having interactions with them is necessary for growth.  

I expand my art circles by responding to art calls, searching out artists in their traditional environments, going to museum openings and Artwalks, participating in shows and displaying in art galleries.  I love meeting artists and interacting with people that I meet in all of those venues and listening to their reactions to my own work and that of other artists.  

There is so much to be gained by interacting with others. What might be a casual conversation at a gallery opening might become a spark that changes the way one thinks about their art, or the very process of how the art is produced. By viewing new things the artist is challenged, if only on a subconscious level, to think about one’s own work.

An artist may work alone, but is still affected by the larger community. Stimuli bombards us from all sides and being in a creative community helps to serve as a filter and to both edit and anchor accordingly.

How does your artistic approach contribute to your community?

I make my own contributions to the art community by sharing my experiences, techniques, and methods of working and by teaching and mentoring others.

I wholeheartedly subscribe to being supportive of local individual artists, arts organizations, and galleries. But it goes beyond this. As an artist who works primarily in wood, I have made connections with a variety of people from all walks of life who often source materials for me. In return they see these materials transformed. In this way, art becomes available for an even wider audience.

Our weekly Art Circle series profiles artists throughout the community and is sponsored in part by Lafayette Visitor Enterprise Fund managed by Lafayette Travel