Ingrid Goelz
Reception: Sunday, Jan 8, 1-3 pm

San Simeon Sentinel

I love tree roots, they're almost anthropomorphic and came upon this particular tree on a camping trip.  For 30+ years, I've driven by the San Simeon day use area and never stopped, always on the way to somewhere else.  Last year we camped and hiked there and this this tree is part of the marsh hike.  Something about the strong roots and the climbing stairs inspired me, making me think about our lives and how we need that grounded strength to journey to new places.  

I'm largely a self taught (and struggling) artist.  I took a great class in Lake Tahoe one summer years ago and wish I could remember my teacher's name.  His whole focus was on giving us exercises to SEE.  I took one other class at Cuesta right after moving back to the Central Coast. My teacher there was Marian Stevens and her focus was getting us to THINK about what we put on canvas.  After that, I got involved with crafts and didn't paint much, but constantly read, poured over books and magazines, visited museums, etc. saying "one of these days I'm going to get back to painting".  That day came I guess, but in order to really finish something, I signed up to be featured artist.  At this point, I consider it a form of bungee jumping!