"Savannah #1" by Adine Schoonmaker

Adine's Bio I grew up in a small town in Central NY. My dad was a Photographer and my mom a Fashion Illustrator. We moved from Washington DC when I was 4, and my dad loved the countryside so much he used to take my mom, my brother and me around to the corn fields and woods and streams and take pictures of us just being silly and having a great time running around with our shoes off. I can't say there has ever been a definitive time when I realized I wanted to be an Artist. It was just sort of always part of me. I think I see life very much the way my father does, always fascinated by people and nature. I was actually sidetracked from following in my fathers or my moms footsteps by falling in love with Ballet. An absolutely mesmerising women came knocking at our door one day when I was 8 and introduced herself as the new ballet teacher in town. I was immediately smitten by the image of the contents of a big box she brought with her. It was filled with everything ballet pink, tutu's and slippers and pointe shoes. I was a goner. For 15 years I focused on not much else but Ballet, then later Modern and Jazz. In 1984, I recieved a full scholarship to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center in NYC. I think with the freedom of living in NYC during the 80's, I began to question where my creativity was, because Ballet is very formal and technical, and, as a dancer, you are confined to someone else's vision. The urge to create from my own spirit started to grab hold of me, and I decided to give up dance professionally and focus on drawing, painting and photography. I have spent the last several years reacquainting myself with, myself I guess, not always sure what I aim to say, but knowing there is quite a bit in there somewhere... I am an emotional person and am moved by so many things and people and situations and feel deeply the beauty and pain in life. To me, there is always an incredible moment and I want to find the most honest way of expressing my experience of it.