| Childhood
I was born in Lima Ohio and our family moved to Southern California when I was two years old. My father was an electrical engineer and my mother had a full time job looking after six kids; five boys and one girl, all between the ages of ten and two. I didn’t know much of what my older brothers were up to, but it became clear my brother, Joe, just a year older than I, was the “artist” in the family. It didn’t take long for me to look for recognition elsewhere.
I never really attempted much along the lines of “art” until my father became interested in lapidary (rock cutting and polishing) my junior year in high school. This intrigued me and soon I was very involved in this hobby. It was through this experience I realized I had a good eye for detail and symmetry. I also have a vague memory of trying to carve a puppet head. But nothing much ever became of that.
I eventually chose to be a dancer for a number of reasons. The first was that I enjoyed going to high school dances and people told me I had a good feeling for movement. Then there was my best friends mother who was always after me about my terrible posture (I grew a foot in a very short time and the rest of me, and my friends hadn't caught up yet). I had a tendency to lean or curl over to talk with people and it wasn't a pretty sight.
Back to top
University
I was accepted to the University of California at Irvine as a possible engineering major and the same friends mother told me UCI had an excellent dance program. She said taking dance would correct my posture and help me carry myself with confidence throughout life. So I also enrolled for ballet and modern dance classes.
After posting nothing less than unacceptable marks in my physics and calculus classes, I realized I didn’t have a clue what I was doing in engineering. I was redefining the concept of “out of your element”, and my grades adequately confirmed the fact. I felt that all that was left to me was my dancing. I made the decision (not so overwhelmingly father-pleasing) to switched my major to dance.
I danced a lot over the next three years as one of only six male dance majors. You must remember that back in 1976, where I grew up in Southern California, male dancers were relatively scarce. If you were male and wanted to be a dancer, there must have been something “wrong” with you. Well I survived that stereotype and graduated in 1979 with a BFA in dance.
I moved to New York in the fall of 1979 at the invitation of my brother Joe, who had recently moved there to pursue a career in the fashion industry as a hair and make-up professional.
Back to top
Theatre
After moving to New York, I got a job selling shoes at Gucci on 5th Avenue. One of the sales staff asked me if I wanted to be in a community theatre production of "Dames at Sea". It was a lot of fun and my first introduction to Musical Theatre. I got the great idea of becoming a teacher at the Fred Astaire Ballroom Studios. I thought it might be nice to be making money and learning to dance at the same time. The experience was less than I had hoped for. Almost as soon as I had become a teacher, I realized the emphasis was on selling classes and I headed back to Gucci.
All the while I was doing the theatre-auditioning thing. Hundreds of dancers vying for perhaps six parts. Then a friend told me about a dance company called the American Dance Machine (ADM). We went to take class together and I was hooked. They taught "Theatre Dance". On Monday you learned the style of dance of the Twenties. Tuesday was the Thirties and so on. I learned that they were going to be taking a tour to Japan so I auditioned and eventually got the job.
ADM was dedicated to reconstructing and performing the choreography from the Broadway stage. We performed dances of many styles such as Ron Fields "Telephone Dance" from "Cabaret", "Hair" from "Hair", and "Get me to the church on time" from "My Fair Lady". It was a wonderful experience.
Back to top
We toured Japan for two and a half months in 1981 and I fell in love with the country. My love of Japan would come in to play in 1984 when I was asked to teach Theatre Dance in Tokyo for ADM. The salary I was offered was quite low but I wanted to get back to Japan so I accepted the job. I taught for three months, came home for a performance tour in Munich, Vienna, and around New England. Then it was back to Tokyo to teach for another three months. It was during this time that I was introduced to my first washi doll.
Upon returning to the United States I became the Dance Captain of the American Dance Machine (I was in charge of all the choreography for all the dancers in the company). Yet whenever I had free time I would try making dolls from washi. I took several trips to Japan to meet washi doll teachers, gather techniques and then experiment with doll making back in my New York apartment. ADM had a rather sporadic touring schedule so I was able to do a lot of experimenting.
In 1987 I auditioned and got a part in the revival of "Anything Goes" at Lincoln Center. I performed with this show for next two years. Unfortunately, two weeks before the show opened I slipped a disk in my back. I performed that way for the entire two years and when the show closed in '89 I was ready for a change.
Scholarship
Back in '88 I had been a part of a washi doll exhibition at the Japan Society in New York featuring the exquisite work of Kyoko Nakanishi. I met a woman there that had received a two-year Japanese government scholarship to study in Japan. She felt I was a prime candidate for this scholarship so when "Anything Goes" was about to close I applied.
Back to top
I was awarded the scholarship in January of 1990 and moved to Japan in April. The next two years were filled with many memorable experiences and I returned home in '92 with my head spinning with ideas and techniques I had picked up along the way.
The scholarship system was set up so that you studied intensive Japanese for the first six months and then you moved on to your field of research. I was lucky to have been offered a home-stay situation and my host family was very gracious. All in all Japanese was a hard language for me and I am still struggling for a better over-all understanding.
I moved to Tokyo to start my research and with the support of the Nakanishi family, things went pretty smoothly. My schedule was typically comprised of doll classes; trips to the Kabuki theatre; paper making, printing and dyeing excursions; and the hunt for books and any other source materials I could find.
I typically taught two English conversation classes each Sunday and used the money to buy books and supplies. By the time it was time to come back to the States, I had amassed thirty-one boxes of books, supplies, paper etc.
I have only good memories of this period of my life and many of my successes were made possible with the support of Kyoko Nakanishi and her family. But something that stands out is the time spent with Arasawa Eijiro learning the techniques for making Chirimen-gami. For seven years I had hoped to meet this craftsman and see a demonstration of his work. When the day came, he took me on as his first student and over the next six months, this 84 year old creped-paper master taught me everything he could about this wonderful craft.
When I look back on my scholarship experience, one of the things I am most proud of is the extent to which so many people went out of their way to help me accomplish my goals. In Japan, you don't get far without the right introductions. I was blessed with many such favors. But I also had some help of my own. I let the pictures of my dolls be my introduction to people I didn't know and strengthen the relations I had already established. With the photos of the dolls, I could let people see deep into my intentions. For the dolls were the product of my determination to learn about this foreign culture.
Back in the States
After returning to the United States, It took some time to digest all the various techniques I had learned as well it took a while to adjust to the culture shock of being back in New York City. Money was tight but one of my priorities was to make a replica of the tool involved in the chirimen process. Eventually after asking some hefty favors, I finished the tool in May of 1995. I was still making dolls during this period, but I wanted to become proficient at the creping technique so I could honor my teacher with the results of his gift to me. I started doing demonstrations and lectures and inevitably I wrote an article of the process for HAND PAPERMAKING magazine winter issue '95-'96.
It was also around this time I was asked to use my Japanese language ability to support Mrs. Nakanishi during a NIADA conference (National Institute of American Doll Artists) in Philadelphia. I would meet many talented artists and doll enthusiasts. Up to that time, almost all of my work on my dolls was an individual journey. I wasn't really aware of what was going on in the world of artist's dolls. Four conferences later and a lot of experiences in between has taught me a lot. In the summer of '99, I became a member of NIADA and who knows where this new experience will lead. I do want to thank the many friends who supported my entrance into NIADA.
Back to top
|
