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Jim
Saw
I was active as a painter and printmaker from when I finished graduate school in 1968 until I got my job at Palomar College in 1973. During that time I was represented in seven art museum sales and rental galleries from La Jolla to San Francisco. I also showed in seven commercial galleries from San Diego to Minneapolis.
I feel very fortunate to have had the job I had teaching art at Palomar College. It gave me the chance to explore my own interests and at the same time concentrate on helping others understand and make art.
When I started teaching I thought of my self as a painter who taught. Later I realized that I was more of a teacher who painted. Later I understood that I was a teacher first and a whole lot of other things second -- painter, craftsman, luthier, dancer.......in short a dilettante, or if you are feeling generous, a Renaissance man.
During the nineteen eighties I became active painting again. I had recently been diagnosed as a diabetic and used my art as a way of understanding what was happening to me. The Knowles Gallery in La Jolla represented me and I had good success selling airbrush seascapes and oil and acrylic landscape paintings. The gallery was sold in 1989 and I quit showing there.
In 1990 a fire destroyed part of my house, much of the furniture and many favorite artworks. I was bored with painting by then and decided to try my hand at something practical. In the excellent furniture making classes at Palomar College I learned how to work with wood and made furniture.
During that time I developed an interest in guitar making (lutherie) and after visiting Taylor Guitar's factory in El Cajon and Martin Guitars in Pennsylvania I bought a Martin guitar kit. That guitar turned out well so I made four more from scratch. Soon I had a house full of guitars (I bought and repaired some as well).
The last guitar was part of a sabbatical leave project so I bought my son a new computer and took over his old black and white screened wood burning Macintosh to write the paper. I became fascinated with the computers so bought my son a better one when he started college and took over his Macintosh Performa. Several computer upgrades later I am deeply into cyber space and digital imagery.
In 1998 I started teaching computer art and wrote a text for my Design and Composition class and put it on the Internet.
In December, 2002, I retired from teaching after 30 years at Palomar College. They say life is short but art is large, and so it seems. I am looking forward to what will come next. . . . . . . .
Jim
"The unmemiored life, is it worth living?" . . . . Garrison Keillor
If the short version of my life was not enough to satisfy your curiosity, there is more.