mitzieBgood

Mitzie Bower is a native New Mexican, born and raised in the Land of Enchantment. She received her bachelors degree in Fine Arts from the University of New Mexico and had a career as a graphic artist at Sandia National Laboratories for the past 28 years. As a teen, she was extremely athletic and dedicated to the sport of gymnastics. At the age of 17, an unfortunate fall from the balance beam paralyzed her from the shoulders down. Her loss of physical expression evolved into a passion for visual beauty. Creativity and an interest in self expression has always motivated Mitzie. A prosthetic brace enables her to pursue her art. Mitzie's innovative illustrations reflect nature and the cultural influences that New Mexico has to offer her. She also seeks the inherent beauty within wood or gourds through the pyrographic techniques of woodburning. Mitzie is also fascinated by the charming luster of glaze on ceramic tiles. Her multiple tile mosaics are exuberant in color and tactile to the touch. It is important to Mitzie that her artwork is as sensuous to the touch as it is to the eye. This is especially apparent in Wilderness Roundup. Wilderness Roundup, an enormous task for any artist became the biggest challenge of Mitzie’s artistic life. After she convinced the director of The Trail of Painted Ponies that she should be given a chance to paint a 5-foot-tall 7-foot-long horse sculpture, her husband, Tim, invented a tilt-table that allowed Mitzie to tip the model at a 45 degree angle, enabling her to reach and paint the entire body surface from her wheelchair. Mitzie recently retired from the corporate world to reinvent herself integrating her extensive computer skills with her knowledge of the fine arts.

Current Residence: Albuquerque, NM
Skin of choice: tattooed