Connect What is your favorite type of art to create?

I love to create art that captures the experience revolving around it. My work consists of portraits of friends and family who are all interesting characters in their own right. What really fills my soul is being able to cook for them, to break bread, to have lasting conversations and to learn more about them. The enlightenment that I have been blessed with is captured in my imagery as each portrait isn't just a picture, but rather a memento of the love and friendship that we share together.

Where do you find inspiration?

I find inspiration in the friends and family closest to me. I draw upon the energies and souls of each person that I photograph. Their stories, their hardships, and who they are as a person are what drives me to continue. In learning more about them, I learn about myself. What started out as a therapeutic way to reconnect with friends has turned into a labor of love and something that fills my soul with the presence of each dinner guest who passes through my home.

What would you do with $25,000?

To be blessed with such an award would further validate my ambition to create a cook book that would be comprised of the people, food, stories and recipes of all who have shared my kitchen. I would hope to inspire others through my journey in the hopes that they to would stop their busy lives for an evening, create a cuisine infused with love, and break bread with someone. There is no better way to know someone than sharing a meal, especially if it is one that comes from the heart.