THIS IS MY ARTIST/MUSICIAN STATEMENT: ~ I am a multi-media artist: a singer/songwriter/musician first and foremost, an experimental photographer, an editor, writer, painter, a semi-precious beadwork jewelry designer, and an Energy Healer. Quite a list. I come here also as a novice screenplay writer. I have one script - the first and only screenplay I've ever written. Some cajones, huh? Well, perhaps - but, I think it has serious potential. I am entering my script in competition; so, we'll see how it fares. For most of my life I've been a singer, songwriter and musician. I am told I began singing and performing as a toddler! I know I began musical training at age 4 on piano - I am told that I couldn't reach an octave the year before, and the teacher wouldn't take me, despite my eagerness and talent, until my hands were big enough to reach the 12 keys! I was raised by a writer mother and an actor/commedian/director/writer father -and so, creativity is my life blood. My father told me that the first real singing influence was Judy Garland: I am told that when I was 3 or 4, I saw the Wizard of Oz for the first time: and when she sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," I allegedly got very close to the TV screen and watched and listened attentively. Apparently, when the song was over, I looked at my father and said to him: "I can do that..." And, well, I could - and I can. I have over two albums of recorded original songs, and many unreacreded to date; I also have dozens of paintings and graphic pieces, thousand's of photographs, lots of gorgeous jewelry, and my lonely little screenplay. I was not always as prolific or as steadily creating 2-D artwork as I have been with music - I think I wrote my first song at age 10; and now, at age 55, I have written at least one song for every year since then. I have performed in various groups and also solo since age 16. My first experience as a recording artist was in 1976. I have honed my skills in dozens o sessions and can legitimately claim the title of: "recording artist." I now co-engineer and produce in the studio. I have worked with numerous professional artists and musicians; they have all been inspirational. There was a time in my life where I was forced to deal with a powerful challenging event which evetually diverted back to 2-D art forms. I suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in 1994, while attending UCBerkeley in California. My brain, my "hard drive," was essentially erased and I had to find a way to reboot. This experience dramatically changed my world view, my perception of myself and my purpose in this life. It was a long painful recovery often feeling like I was an alien inhabiting this body. The task was to rebuild my identity, my sense of me, who "I" was. I consciously and methodically recreated my sense of self and discovered new interests, apptitudes and abilities. Definitely the silver lining! This new self-awareness enabled me to break with a relatively stagnant past identity and branch out into different forms and mediums of creativity. Never before had I experienced such simplicity and ease of creation within myself -- I soon found an amazing clarity in my artistic vision, a more focused voice in my art and my music. What I lost cognitively and in organizational skills I gained in sharp focus and a greater versatility and ease in exploring all creative avenues. And my music is still here -- I continue to write, sing and record -- now, with a maturity and purity of style and a coherent vision. It took brain damage to put me on the path of enlightenment. I am very happy to be here among such talent, skill and experience. My path, which once was cluttered and busy and filled with over-analysis and worry about what others thought of what I created, is now calm. My old brain crippled me far more severely than the TBI! Who would imagine that brain damage set me free? In a way, I feel it was some level of "divine intervention," yanking me back to where I should have been all along. And so, I am here now: Me - the "new" me - hoping to be of some contribution to the discourse here. I am honored to be with you all.
~ Respectfully ~ Kim Ayrie Morris ~