Bio: not a life story; a collage of snapshots. The plain facts, if you want to skip ahead, are at the bottom of the page.
Two first names: a never ending challenge for receptionists—and others. No, there’s no s on Daniel, and no, it’s not Danial ("Really?" I always want to say, “Have you ever seen Daniel spelled that way?!”) That first first name, how do you spell it? Are you sure? Pronounced Eddy, yes, like a gentle whirlpool.
Wau-wa-to-sa: Indian name; means “firefly." But you can say Milwaukee too; close enough. Another Indian name: “meeting of the waters.” One of the waters, the Menomonee (yep, Indian) River is a short walk from my house. Going there can take me a long way from home. Milwaukee is a fine place to live—if you don’t count the second half of winter, from Feb to Apr. I still miss spring, which I loved in NY where I spent my first 20 years. No, not The City: a suburb north of New Jersey. Near the Hudson, but my river then was a creek called Nauraushaun (Indian.) That’s creek, pronounced like cheek, not crick, which I get in my neck all too often these days.
Married, with children. Actually, they’re grown ups now. Alex lives in Massachusetts, works as a consultant and self-styled "radical copyeditor." Chelsea lives nearby with her Nicaraguan husband, Marcelo, and my two grandchildren. Married to Lynn, art therapist extraordinaire. If art isn't therapeutic I don't know what is!
Artist/teacher or teacher/artist. I did both for … well, a long time until I stopped the teaching part in 2011 to devote myself to the artist part. Now it's artist/writer. I taught photography, architecture, graphic design, drawing, ceramics, art history: there’s a lot of art in the world, thank goodness! Creativity is key to teaching as well as art. Like a shark, you have to keep moving forward or you die. Art and teaching have a lot in common: They have no impact if you’re doing them for yourself.
Professional Experience
- Milwaukee Magazine, columnist
- University of Wisconsin - Waukesha, Waukesha, WI
- Carroll College, Waukesha, WI
- Mount Mary College, Milwaukee, WI
- St. Norbert College, DePere, WI
- Marquette University High School, Milwaukee, WI
Organizational Experience
- Preserve Our Parks, Board of Directors
- Friends of the Hank Aaron State Trail, Board of Directors and Public Arts Committee, Co-Chair
- Coalition of Photographic Arts, Founding Member, Board of Directors
- Milwaukee Riverkeeper, Board of Directors
- Unitarian Universalist Church West, Gallery Director, Board of Trustees
- Milwaukee Area Teachers of Art, Board of Directors
Professional Memberships
- Milwaukee Artists Resource Network
- Society for Photographic Educators
- Wisconsin Visual Artists
- Milwaukee Area Teachers of Art
- Coalition of Photographic Arts
Education
- University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, 1985: M.S., Art Education; Thesis Exhibition: Photography and Cliché-Verre
- University of Wisconsin – Madison, 1976: B.S., Art Education
Post-Graduate Studies
- School of the Art Institute of Chicago
- Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design
- University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee
- University of Wisconsin - Madison
- Maine Photographic Workshops
- Santa Fe Photographic Workshops
Artist Residencies
- Vida Compasíon/Alto Cayma Mission, Arequipa, Peru. 2009
- Menomonee Valley/Zimmerman Architectural Studios, Milwaukee, WI. 2014
- Lynden Sculpture Garden, Milwaukee, WI. 2015
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Cantera, Managua, Nicaragua: 2016
- The Harbor District, Milwaukee, WI. 2017
- University of Wisconsin Trout Lake Field Station, Vilas County, WI. 2017
- ARTservancy/Milwaukee River Greenway, Milwaukee, WI. 2020