Artistic expression for me has always been experiential. Whether I am producing art or crafts or appreciating others' work I wanted to be in touch with the medium.  Touch is at the heart of all the senses whether haptics, smelling, seeing, hearing or tasting.  We want to experience the close intercourse of the lifelike quality of the work.

My lifetime involvement in the performing arts centered on doing, participating far more than watching or just hearing or reading.  Early on in the 1970's I focused on creative drama and participatory theatre both which require kinetic response by the actors and the audience members.  As a child I was fascinated by the idea of volunteers coming up on stage and helping the magician or subjecting themselves to the hypnosis act.  My study and teaching in creative drama awakened the instincts that art can and perhaps should go beyond the auditory and visual.  I began to value methods in the classroom and on stage which incorporated taste, smell, and especially touch.