About the Artist: Richard Grahn

Some people call me Bumpkin, Bumpy, or just Bump. I got that nickname in college where I studied art and music. From there, I went on to become a metal finisher then an artist then a computer programmer and then back to an artist, musician, writer, and photographer. Took a hiatus to work on an oil rig, and spent time in the Military in Korea. I've hitchhiked across America several times and have slept everywhere from the streets to a mansion, and pretty much everywhere in-between.

I was all about the humanities in college. My first art class did it. By the summer I had the keys to the sculpture lab and was living in it, literally and figuratively. Little did I know, I was evolving into a multi-disciplined artist, having declared myself a music major. My love of improvisation was born and I started to wonder if I was an artist. I didn't think about making a living through art; I thought of it as a game, a dance. Just doing it was enough for me. I asked myself what the purpose of art was and came to the conclusion that personally, it is healing, and that for the rest of the world, well, it's up to their imagination. I discovered that art changes lives and shapes the world.

Art invites observers to become participants by guiding them into the realms of their own imaginations. I enjoy creating things that can be interpreted in different ways. I hope you will too.