When I look back over more than fifty years of art making and exhibiting, I recognize the philosophical and scientific concept that “everything connects”. My work life began in Connecticut, transitioned to New Mexico, then to Maryland, each chapter evolving its own interconnected history. With the gift of retirement my husband and I made one last move, to Westerly, Rhode Island, where I continue to be an engaged and practicing artist. I exhibit monthly with my colleagues at Artists’ Cooperative Gallery of Westerly, where I have served as webmaster since February, 2021.

I feel profoundly blessed for having lived eighteen years in “The Land of Enchantment” after taking what I thought would be a one-year leave of absence from my employment to pursue a master’s degree in Art. Although accepted into the graduate program of Rhode Island School of Design at twenty-five years old, living paycheck to paycheck as the art teacher in a private school in my home town, I knew it would be inordinately difficult to afford tuition, housing and sustenance in what seemed a very large and intimidating urban city compared to the environment I knew. (SUNY Buffalo was another option, but seemed less appealing, and too cold.) My admiration of Georgia O’Keefe, however, had also guided me to apply to the University of New Mexico. Albuquerque seemed a beautiful and somewhat exotic place, and was as far away as I could get from the limited future expectations that I felt lie in wait for me at home. With student loans, the prospect of living for the first and only time in an adult dorm (the first semester) and minimal belongings packed into my Datson B210, I drove across country in 1979 accompanied by my college roommate.

My art foundations at Southern Connecticut State College (now University) in New Haven were very strong, thanks to my primary teachers, Anna Held Audette (etching and Independent Study), Keith Hatcher (lithography) and Nicolas Orsini (drawing). At Southern I also had great introductions to the entire range of Studio Arts. Photography and working in clay remained activities I continued to engage with throughout the years. Much to my naive surprise, printmaking led me to one of the best art facilities and teachers of the time—the mentor, co-author of the Tamarind Book of Lithography, Garo Antreasian, who used to call me “kiddo”.

Whether it was fate, luck or a certain alignment of the planets, the entire rest of my life was catapulted from my experiences in New Mexico. My eyes were opened to the world at large and I explored any and everything that intrigued me. By the time I moved away to full-time academic employment (with health insurance and benefits) my constant feeling of being a “tabula rasa” about so many things remained, but Albuquerque had established that I could confidently say “I’m an Artist.” Life moved forward rapidly. However, it simultaneously meant sacrificing much of what “normal” people did and aspired toward.

Growing old as an artist and emeritus professor provides me the freedom to continue learning, creating, improving and remaining active. This is worth all the lean years and most difficult experiences that taught me more than I could have imagined. I especially appreciate my life in New Mexico and my childhood in Connecticut, which remain as touchstones to all that engages me still and my soul appreciates in full.

©November 2026, Janet Maher