The Pulse-Awakening In The City: A Young Artist’s Journey

I remember my first time in New York City as a young woman in my early 20s, sometime in the 1970s. The experience was nothing short of electrifying. Having grown up in the confines of the New Jersey suburbs, I felt like I had finally discovered a world that embraced me and all the other “misfits” who dared to be different.

I remember saying to myself…”Finally, I’m home!”

The Art Scene

As a young art student, I couldn’t get enough of New York City’s museums, galleries, and music. I fell in love with jazz as I spent evenings listening to live performances at the Village Gate in Greenwich Village. In those days, the one-drink minimum made it an affordable haven before transforming into a fashionable and exclusive hotspot.

For a time, I worked at a feminist newspaper in the city. I was awestruck and slightly intimidated by my fiercely outspoken colleagues, having never encountered women who wielded words with such unapologetic power.

I fell under the spell of my former art professor and mentor, Al Hansen, who introduced me to the bohemian underbelly of downtown Manhattan. Al recognized the artist within me, but he also sensed that the unforgiving nature of New York City might prove too much for a young woman with such a sensitive soul.