It is my strong belief that a work of art should offer the viewer a multitude of visual possibilities, the same variety of imagery found in the shifting patterns of nature. Titles of my works indicate the intended 'themes' and images. When the viewer, like a child gazing at cloud formations, perceives other - perhaps personal - imagery, my fuller intention is realized. In effect, when you look at a work of art, half of what you see is what the artist placed there, the other half is what you bring to it.

Artist and teacher Paul Darrow said it best:

"Art is not something you do on Tuesday and Thurday afternoons, and it is not a career; art is a way of life as essential as breathing"

This is the principle, the belief, with which I approach my work and all of my teaching-whether in the studio or in the history of art courses. In an era that has become increasingly indifferent toward the arts, it seems to me that the relevance of art as a part of one's "way of life" is of greater importance than ever before. I try to share with my students my own strong commitment to art and my sense of urgency that indifference not be turned into intolerance; that the relevance of art might be seen as integral to each individual's deepest sense of personal growth.

Hopefully, the students with whom I am privileged to work will come to understand art as an enhancement of their own lives on every level of their endeavors and achievements.

- David Bodlak