Tell us something about yourself
When did you first realize you were an artist
I began at Oklahoma State University (OSU) as a math major, shifted quickly to Computer Science, then I decided to pursue my father’s desire for me to become a medical doctor like him, so I changed majors and pursued pre-med classes. I earned a BS degree in Zoology from OSU, then worked in a research lab at the Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City. Not convinced about going to medical school yet, I began graduate studies in Zoology at the University of Oklahoma and with one hour to completion I dropped out of graduate school convinced that was not my destiny because during many odd jobs in photography, interior design, furniture moving, and more, I would draw only after midnight and wouldn’t show my work, because I was embarrassed to call myself an artist. I was 7 years an offset lithographers’s apprentice in the Graphic Arts Union before I left for Denver to study for the third and longest time with the Theosophy Society and during those Raja Yoga days, I came to the full realization that I was denying my true Self. I returned to Oklahoma, corrected my path by enrolling in the Central State University art department and wept during my first art class as I felt like I had finally returned Home to enthusiastically pursue art.
Are you a spelunker?
Actually, we call it caving (not spelunking), because we are very serious about safety, ecology and respect for cave owners and spelunkers are generally more thrill seeking. I’ve been a member of the National Speleological Society (NSS) and International Society of Speleological Art (ISSA) for nearly 40 years. These are the premier organizations for cave conservation, exploration, surveying, photography and speleoart. The local chapters of the NSS are called grottos and I’m a life member of the the Central Oklahoma Grotto and I have been editor of our publication, Oklahoma Underground and for a decade I have been the national treasurer for the Arts and Letters Section of the NSS.
Adventures into art:
In college I was good friends with Jenny Goetz Tullius. Jenny was a daughter of RV and Edith Goetz. RV was
Creative energy:
Duende.
Valued lessons:
Can’t live without: