Live, Loft, Learn
Sometimes, editors direct you toward niches you never knew you needed. Such was the case with Las Vegas Life Home & Design (later H&D), where I initially landed a 400-word piece on desert gardening. In addition to learning how to grow asparagus, I wrote many assignments for H&D, including profiles of local artists and collectors, boutique shopping guides, and the 2000-word real estate feature story mentioned on the cover below. (Click the cover to read the clip.)
Art for Heart & Hearth
This set of profiles was the most rewarding of any I have crafted, because I had the privilege of interviewing two of the most important visual artists to live and work in Las Vegas, Tim Bavington and Annie Lee. The latter became a good friend and beloved mentor. Her impact on black artists and small business owners, mostly women, cannot be overstated. Equally as interesting were the tips on art collecting gleaned from curators and gallery owners, Naomi Arin and Barbara Lee Woolen. (The cover below will take you there.)
My First Cover Story!
Blue Man Group founders Chris Wink, Phil Stanton, and Matt Goldman were as fun to talk to as their hit show is to watch. I was a few interviews into my writing career when I entered their theater at the Luxor, where they promptly secured my pen and notebook, and interviewed me instead. On a separate occasion, I was invited to watch the show from the drum loft, where I sat onstage amongst their musicians. It was one of the most energizing evenings of my life.
