Woman Flying
She describes her young adulthood mostly “in the closet” about her fierce desire not just to make art but to live “the life of an artist.” She took classes where she could, painting in her barn-turned-studio, bonded with other artists in Maine and showed some work on paper at a pizza parlor behind a Hannaford grocery store in her hometown.
She was at an awkward stage of life to find a mentor, so she turned to peers and younger artists who were “ambitious and smart and seemed to have what I needed,” namely support, inspiration and guidance. She watched as some found success before she did, but “we were all cheering each other on.
Although “making a lot of money,” she adds, “was not on the list” of what success as an artist meant for her, she admits that it felt great to set up educational trusts for her four grandchildren. Most important to her is recognition from institutions: “Flying Woman” travels to thenext February, and the artist and her gallerists have high hopes that museums in other cities will extend the tour.