Art without philosophy for me is like life without reason. We are hardwired to seek why things happen, how they may influence us, and how we can prepare ourselves for what may be arriving soon. We also intuitively aspire to express through the language of the arts that which deeply moves us adversely or positively.

I believe art reflects and shapes our world; it reflects our ambitions while it helps us make sense of the world. But art can never be greater than us as “beings.” I do agree with Heidegger in the importance of what he calls "Dasein" as the being with a capital B-the being that precedes specific beings. However, unlike Heidegger I do not see art as that which reveals the “holiness of that Being.” To be sure, Heidegger does not mean this in a religious sense. But he views art as something that can prompt us to transcend ourselves. "Dasein" means “being in the knowing presence of Being.” To that extent, I see art as something that echoes back the status of our being in any given moment in time—should we be so inclined as to see it and present to grasp it—toward the purpose of consciousness.

In my journey as an artist and an educator, like many others, initially I was drawn to the visual arts and wanted to learn to paint like the old masters; this is reflected in my early studies of such masters. I marveled at the beauty revealed through the nimble brush works by artists such as Rafael or Rembrandt. But I realized there is so more to art and art making than I had initially thought. This led me to studying art and theory and, from there, philosophy.

My pen and ink abstractions reveal a space in between art and philosophy. It is the place in which I currently find myself; it is where I get to question and learn from the process, and never be apprehensive about the final product or the destination.