Most people have a passion in life, something that they react to or interact with exuberantly. Some may call it their calling, others their gift. My passion is creativity. It is my favorite activity or topic, and I find it in most parts of life. So, when this year's "Out of the Box" call for artists went out (a benefit for the Akron Area Arts Alliance ,) I wanted my piece to be about my creative passion. Creativity for me is something that definitely cannot be boxed in, and because it is all around, my creative muse would definitely be bursting "out of the box." Many visual artists go through phases in their careers as new inspirations or techniques are experienced and learned. The majority of my career has been as a graphic designer exploring and working in the fields of print and web design. In my daily work, creativity is what drives me, however process management and technical production often replace hands-on creativity. My goal to be working on a creative...

A graphic designer and docent's venture into mixed media assemblage arts. The Akron Area Arts Alliance , an organization that promotes the arts and culture in Akron and the surrounding areas received entries for its biennial Out of the Box Auction this weekend. This year the Auction will be preceded by an exhibition running October 29 through November 7 at Summit Art Space , the joint community gallery project of Summit County and the Akron Area Arts Alliance. There is a chance to bid on the boxes during the gallery exhibition. Bidding concludes on the night of the Arts Alive Awards. All boxes that were donated by artists are a chance to contribute to the local arts communities since the money raised by auctioning the boxes goes to AAAA and Summit Art Space. All of this, and a chance to be included in the membership of the organization, sounded like a great opportunity to not just observe the arts in the area, but to be active in the creation of local art. So, I took my la...