Preparing For The Big Show

As I am preparing for my show for the Opera Central Opening on May 13th, I am thinking about how I got here.  How can I be presenting my work at the prestigious Mirella Cimato Gallery at Opera Central, St Petersburg, FL at this time in my life?  As my mixed-media collage pieces are being hung, I think what a joy this is!

I’ve had a blessed, and some would say, successful life. I’ve climbed the Corporate ladder in banking and now am Vice President of our family software company, Perconti Data Systems. I’ve been on Boards, been a guest speaker many times, and have traveled the world. I am an advocate and fundraiser for Rapha House, which rescues children from sex slavery. I belong to a woman’s group  (The St. Pete Glitter Queens) that has raised hundreds-of-thousands of dollars for children’s causes.  I support Creative Clay, which makes the arts accessible to all and made art with children at their bedsides for years.

At different times in my life, I have identified with all of these jobs.

Now I AM AN ARTIST!  It is in my soul. It is who I am.

How did that happen?

I’ve painted for years and enjoyed it as a hobby.  The transformation to Artist happened at an artist’s retreat called “Through the Looking Glass” given by Dayna Wood and Jennifer Carey. One of my best mixed-media collages in the show was begun at that retreat.

Through the Looking Glass

At the retreat, we were encouraged to visualize, clarify and get rid of things that didn’t serve us.  What became very clear to me is how important art and expression are to me. Everything else except art, family and Rapha House fell away.  Something huge was unleashed!  I was reinvented!

After the retreat, all I wanted to do was work on my collages. I barely wanted to go to work where I own half the company. I was on fire and I remain that way to this day.  I collage in the kitchen. I collage in the TV room, I collage in my office… ripping, tearing, painting.  I can’t stop.

This was a magnificent, unexpected turn in my life.  Instead of carrying my  Perconti Data business cards, I carry my Mixed-Media Artist cards. Being an artist is what I identify with. It’s who I am.

Here is the point.  Life is thrilling and filled with joy and expression and beautiful colors. It is never too late to reinvent yourself!

If you have a chance to come to the Duetto Opening on May 13, I hope you’ll see the passion and fire and hope for new beginnings in my collages.

Mark your calendar! Come to one of my events and say Hi!