John Pieper

..Ask me about balloon animals and how I got started.... Artistic, Earthy, Easygoing, Flexible, Eccentric, Flirtatious, Playful, Humorous, Witty, Intellectual, Low Maintenance, Procrastinator, Spiritual, Stubborn, Talkative, Unconventional. I enjoy helping people and having them laugh aloud when I work. Former Youth Minister turned Crisis Counselor turned disabled Artist, Actor and Catholic Worker. I'm Oblate of St Benedict, which means I practice monastic contemplative spirituality while living in the secular world....I'm open minded, extroverted, free-spirited, and independent. I was born in 1959 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA. I am a self-taught artist and hope that you enjoy my works as much as I do making them. My love for art began when I was a child, fascinated by colors of nature, skies, and especially manned spaceflight. For many years, I just made art for a hobby. At the age of 38, while working as a Crisis Counselor, an agitated psychiatric patient who attempted to break my neck attacked me, rendering me permanently disabled and nearly losing my life. Since that time I have been exploring this brave new world of the Disabled Artist. When I became disabled, I had to lie on my back and be still. In this state, I began marking up discarded CD discs and liked the reflective effect. My art came about because of meditation and prayer. Some of the pieces generated are rather abstract, but still have a spiritual aspect. In 2005, I began to make my artwork with the Interact Center (www.interactcenter.com); a one-of-a-kind organization dedicated to work with disabled artists and actors. I am an artist and performer as well. I work with balloon animals at community events. I enjoy helping people and having them laugh aloud when I work. Stay tuned, as I am moving into and now expanding my proficiency in other art media as well.