Michael Pinchera

author

Michael Pinchera

I was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1953. Ever since childhood, I have been expressing myself with color. Many experiences are beyond constructions of words or known images. Even though I have, thro...ver másI was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1953. Ever since childhood, I have been expressing myself with color. Many experiences are beyond constructions of words or known images. Even though I have, throughout my life, found myself in situations and positions of having to be very verbal, I have always found that certain things that live in my heart and soul are more fully and richly expressed through the language of color and form. In my late teens, I attended the fine arts program at The Society of Arts And Crafts in Detroit (now known as The Center for Creative Studies) where I focused on drawing and printmaking. At age19, I was hired as an illustrator's apprentice at McNamara & Assoc., a commercial art studio which mainly catered to the automobile industry. Even though I felt confined by the commercial and industrial atmosphere I learned about professional presentation of artwork. At this time, I sold my first piece of artwork in a gallery, where I had placed it an hour previously. This same year I very enthusiastically, yet perhaps naively, wrote to Joan Miro ́ asking to work as his apprentice. For years since then the art and aesthetics of Paul Klee, Picasso, Miro’, and Zen and Taoist philosophies were the main influences of my artwork. Instead of pursuing art as a career, I followed my interests in psychology and sociology. I continued to paint throughout my college days, had showings at a few galleries, and had a one-person show at Thomas Jefferson College, where I attended. Two years later, I chose the path of becoming a Waldorf school teacher. During the training for this profession, I was introduced to the color theories of Goethe and Rudolf Steiner. Feeling in alignment with their indications, I followed them and opened up to another level of artistic perception. During my training, the question, "Can there be anthroposophical art without it being "anthroposophical"? ignited a personal quest for me, of which I am sharing some of the fruits in this booklet. Later, I "rediscovered" the artwork and theories of Kandinsky and Klee, who were also influenced by Steiner's work. I have been involved with Waldorf education for the past 30 years. Besides my involvement in the classroom, I have used art in community building with parents, faculties, and boards. After living in North Idaho for the past eighteen years with my wonderful wife and two stepsons, I now live in Ecuador. I paint on a daily basis, evolving my expression and aesthetics. This process is not only necessitated by my painting on a regular basis, but also by my path of inner development as a human being, and the honing of my receptivity to nature.ver menos