This book would not have been possible without the help and encouragement of some very special people.
I would like to thank the wonderful crew at F+W who made this book a reality, especially my editors, Noel Rivera and Tonia Jenny, and amazing photographer Christine Polomsky.
Thank you to the contributing artists for your stunning artwork. I am very grateful to have you as friends and appreciate your generosity and talent.
A special thank you to Adam Cvijanovic, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, the Whitney Museum and Mark Bradford. Without your help I would not have been able to include images of the artwork that inspires me.
A heartfelt thank you to my ever-so-amazing and encouraging husband, Jim, and my family, to my pal Judi Kauffman for her eagle eye and ready ear during the writing process, to Kim Bricker and the Creative Squad for helping me to stay sane and keep up with my other work, and to my friends the Beekman-Lane-Gang, my Dixon-Friends and Die Fischköppe for being there for me and making me laugh out loud whenever I was stuck.
But most of all, thank you to each and every one of my students, with an extra shout out to Denise for the nudge to get this book on its way. You are all a constant source of inspiration and support. You gave me this book!