As a kid, I always liked how Superman had his Fortress of Solitude. As an introvert who somehow ended up as a teacher, my studio is that kind of place, not deep in the Arctic, but just outside my back door on top of the garage. Inside, it is filled with ideas and images that caught my attention for no apparent reason. There are pictures in piles, ones pinned to the wall, boxes of pictures from years past. Most are black and white, clipped from the New York Times. Usually it is a small part of the image that interested me, maybe just a hand gesture. Sometimes I find an old sketch or a painting that didn’t turn out well and it shows me a new way to begin. But mostly, I ignore old images and look at the most recent pile, the ones that haven’t cooled yet. And then I begin.