Li Hertzi

I grew up on a farm in Greentown, Ohio, land of long green land slices, white farm houses, lakes and weather that leads you to look inward for light. It was a magic farm. We had goats, cats, dogs, chickens, ponies, a donkey and Henry the Goose. I became aware of the lushness of life there. This was a great environment to become a person who loves to see. Visual images thrilled me and held my attention where mere words couldn’t. Tho I appreciate Ohio's damp beauty, I wanted Excitement, Sun and Danger! So after art school at Kent State I went to New York City. Talk about excitement!

I studied at Parsons and the New School and learned computers pretty much by accident. I loved New York for about 8 years. The museums, the thrills, the music, the subways, the village, Soho, and the wonderful food. (After you have lived in The City no other place comes close to supplying you with a satisfying diversity in food). But alas, in a life of constant excitement, struggle and colorful adventures, there comes a time when sanity hits and suddenly you have to get out of there immediately. So I did.

As a child I had been to Colorado on a ski vacation with a family friend and dreamed of returning ever since. I came to visit and in one month I found myself here permanently! The move from New York City (millions of people - Sea Level) to Eldora (27 full time residents - 8,890 feet Above sea level) was the most drastic shift in environment so far. Now I live in the mountains of Coal Creek Canyon, a lower 8,221 foot altitude. This is my thirteenth year in Colorado and I am still shocked, as I descend the canyon to the plains, by the dramatic beauty.

I am interested in the figure as an icon. I have taken the basic sculptural elements found in African, Pre-Columbian, Native American and primitive art of many cultures and added interpretations from our present visual dialect. I hope to create images that express the beauty and humor of the human experience.

I am delighted by dolls because they are art in disguise, you can touch them, play with them or put them in a sacred place, they are in our world, not a ”behind glass” world. Most importantly to me, they are the beginnings of stories. Stories that can tell of a deeper knowing.