Higginsquestforvision

I love to look at art, make art and look at the art I make. A reflecting mirror. A peek at the inner fabric. Catharsis. The psychology of it. Searching – an exploration. Trying to strike the right chord. Imagination. Conjuring. Seeking vision. To make something out of nothing – a previously unknown image emerges. A little miracle of the human experience. Photograph it. Hang it up. Look and reflect on it for days and years. Share it. Engage. Art is a path to vision and one of life’s great joys.

My work is eclectic using a variety of materials and approaches but is primarily drawing and painting on paper, panel and canvas. I often take a sculptural approach with objects, construction adhesive, caulk, acrylic media but usually within a pictorial framework with pictorial concerns regarding the elements of art and principles of design. Custom frames add to an integrated presentation.

A characteristic of the work is the blending of representation and abstraction through a gestural drawing process that opens a door to the unconscious in a search for association and meaning. I’m drawn to themes of transcendence and transformation with an affinity for how these themes are expressed in art, history, literature, psychology, science, pseudo-science, philosophy and religion.

Artist Bio

I earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1991 from Wright State University with a focus on drawing and painting. I earned an Individualized Master of Arts degree (IMA) in 1994 from the MacGregor School of Antioch University. This non-traditional degree program allowed me to replicate a Master of Fine Arts Degree Plan. This was actualized under the guidance of Jerry McDowell, Chair of the Wright State University Fine Arts Department who also served as Chair of my Degree Committee. At first, the focus was on administrative development of a Master of Fine Arts Degree Plan, including recruitment of qualified instructors and a course-by-course curriculum for drawing, painting, sculpture, print-making and art history. I then completed the courses I designed as taught by the teachers I recruited. I studied one on one with artist, professor and administrator Jerry McDowell; art history professor Matt Rohn (Wittenberg University); artist and art professor Terry Hitt (University of Dayton) and international sculptor Jon Barlow Hudson in Yellow Springs, OH. The Degree Plan Thesis culminated in an expansive solo exhibition at Wright State University Galleries.

Following graduate school in 1995, I had solo exhibitions in Dayton including the Fidelity Building lobby downtown, Go Home Interiors in the Oregon District and Roger Sayre’s Art Now Gallery in the Santa Clara Arts District. I also participated in group shows at the Dayton Visual Arts Center and in Columbus, Ohio with the Acme Art Company.

I interviewed a few times to be a college art professor to no avail. I partnered in a picture framing business for a couple of years. I shared a studio with a master carpenter and learned to build stretchers, frames and studio furniture. I kept practicing my art but priorities changed when I became a parent.

I started working full-time in direct care at the county juvenile detention center where I earned a steady paycheck and started on a 30-year pension. I figured I would return to being a full-time artist at retirement or at least die trying.

I had a knack for working with incarcerated teens and taught a popular art class in the court’s residential detention and rehabilitation centers for about 10 years. I completed a series of 56 illustrations for a curriculum that was used intensively in these facilities for 20 years. My leadership and administrative talents got me promoted several times to supervise, manage and direct various juvenile court programs – mainly felony-offender residential programs.

I stopped showing artwork for almost 30 years but practiced as an outsider isolated from the art world. I opened a studio at Front Street Studios in Dayton, OH the same day I retired. Front Street is a bustling art community and my studio is open to the public for art hops and special events. I work full time as an artist showing and selling work regularly. I post original content on Instagram weekly and continue to immerse myself in the art community.