With the beginning of spring 2025, I am in the works of creating a fresh new art series. The inspiration for this work began with receiving some art supplies from my dear colleague and cousin, Dino Castellano. Several years ago, I think it was the summer of 2022, Dino offered me x2 sheets of stainless steel with wooden frames glued to the back of them. They were primed with spray paint and tape. I knew exactly who those panels were from but confirmed with Dino who had given them to him.

The artist who created the stainless steel panels is Mai Wyn Schantz - you can reference her work CLICK HERE, she’s an incredible artist and human. Mai Wyn had her studio and fine art gallery next door to the Denver Art Society for years. In 2020, Mai Wyn closed her studio and gallery and, as Dino told me at the time, she gifted these panels to him because he helped her move out of her carry loads from her studio/gallery to her car.

So for years, I have had these panels - not knowing what to do with them. As I write this post, I still do not know what to do with them. But, I am exploring what I can create.

My inspiration always begins with a deep connection to nature and this experience includes connecting to the universe. To explain further I see the universe as grand reaching beyond our solar system, and as small as the space between protons and neutrons in an individual atom. My science education taught me that all atoms are empty space and its the forces between neutrons and protons that keep the an atom together. Atoms combine to make molecules which make up everything that I know. This means everything is hollow but solid, vast but tiny, perfectly balanced.

With this, I begin to create on a blank surface. The formula is completely different, nothing is the same. There is nothing to work from but inspiration, research, and trying something I’ve never done before. I start with my foundation - a profound appreciation for my eternal connection to life, the planet, the solar system, and universe. As I am part of these things, so are we - sharing this together. Why would we not living in harmony, but perhaps we already do. No one is perfect, that’s not community. I hope my art will serve as a reminder of that message - that its not just me, but we all of have an eternal connection to life, the planet, the solar system, and the universe.

So I begin, to paint of sheets of metal - but not the ones Dino gave me - I’m still too unsure as what to do. Instead, I have created smaller pieces - x10 aluminum panels framed with oak and sized 5”x7” and x8 stainless steel panels framed with pine sized 12” x 12”. I am painting my day dream mountains, coexisting with their celestial bodies - the moon and the sun. The skies of each piece shift from dawn or dusk, others are midday, and a few feature a starry night. This weekend, I will explore paint pour and silhouetted mountain ranges. I feel that I am getting close to knowing what to paint on the original panels that have inspired this journey.