Sandra Dean. Photo by David Bilides.
About the Artist
Since childhood, visual art and music have always been constant, comforting, inner companions. Growing up in a small, eastern Washington-state town with limited cultural resources, I am grateful that many of my public-school teachers recognized and encouraged my talents early on. I am especially indebted to my 4th grade violin instructor, Victor Sands, for introducing me to Bach, whose music would become an inspiration in my future life as a visual artist.
I am additionally grateful to University of Washington School of Art professors George Tsutakawa and Richard Kehl, who offered me ongoing kindness, humility, sincerity and support.
Like Leo Kenny, one of the “Northwest Visionary” artists of the 1950’s whose work grew out of their interest in Asian Arts and philosophies, I too have felt compelled to “restate and celebrate the Mysteries” through my art, to reveal the dynamic, invisible component in any subject that is always alive.
Although I have applied these insights to a variety of artistic projects over the years, my highest priority has always been to complete the forty-eight interrelated color drawings of From Seed to Universe, a cyclical interpretation of the ancient and universal world imagery of the Tree of Life. I have revised and refined this work over most of my adult life, quietly and away from the public eye, as an ongoing personal meditation that documents the visionary dream I experienced in my mid-twenties.