Don't Push Mary's Button Collage

I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area of California in the 1950's and 60's and moved to the Midwest in the late 70's. My parents were uneducated rural folks from a tiny Oklahoma farm town called Konawa. They were poor, often in need of outside help, and we all lived through many struggles and hardships. My family history is full of “emotionally wounded” people who struggled with poverty, abuse, mental illness and alcoholism. It’s from my family STORY and those EARLY YEARS of my life that I draw much of my artistic influence. I consider myself a “story teller” and try to convey on canvas or in print the scars that remain on my own heart from the past. In doing so, I am always amazed at the powerful impact my works have on many people and the wonderful, engaging and transparent conversations my works provoke. People seem to connect to their own stories through many of my pieces, and THAT is what Art should be about!