Imagine one of your favorite artists bringing you to their studio and saying, “pick whatever you want”.  Seriously?  Imagine this artist laying work upon work in front of you, charcoal images and pen and ink drawings strewn all over the floor so that you can pick whatever you want.  Imagine the overload of one image after the next, one more beautiful than the one before.

What speaks to you?  The woman with the cane posing nude in the bentwood chair, the series of poses of that same woman.  The pen and ink drawings that seem to be jumping off the page.  The man with the cello and the series of poses that turn his cello away from him but reveal the baldness of his head or the droop of his shoulders or the clench of his jaw.

Why do these images speak to you?  Will I be that woman one day, with my hair pulled back in a hint of purple, my signature bracelets dangling from the wrist that holds my cane?  Will I show the ease of that woman, will I use my cane for emphasis as well as walking?  I hope so.  For now I wake up every morning surrounded by those images that take my breath away.

This is an artist of such unique ability and thinking.  Her artist’s temperament does not extend to the bohemian side but to the more pragmatic side of human nature.  She is not linear in her work but all encompassing and expressive in the way that only someone coming later to the party might be.  Her total talent has yet to be unleashed.

I have no words for the gratitude I feel.  I am in awe, I am encouraged, I am astounded by the generosity of this gift.   MJ Anzel the legacy of your art will grace my home as long as I live here, I thank you and I love you.  I will continue to be honored to know you and watch you share your gift with others through your instruction and beautiful work.