From elementary school through college I found solace and flow in practicing and teaching wheelthrown ceramics. After completing a dual computer science/philosophy degree at Seattle Pacific University, I was surprised to find myself building an unusual sculptural fountain in the back yard of my house in Seattle's art-centric neighborhood of Fremont. The strange, Gaudi-esque fantasy turned out to be the keyhole that I climbed through to find my life as an artist. The completion of that labor of love opened a vision to the life of creativity I'd only dreamed of, and I had to say yes. Suddenly my stifled dreams of a career in art had found their way to reality - despite my best efforts to the contrary.
The art practice I waded into proved to be a self-directed adventure in creativity, rumination, learning, teaching, labor, hyperextension, relationships, and other ingredients of joie de vivre. These adventures so far would chronicle a public art installation at Cascade Valley Hospital, teaching assistantships at Pilchuck Glass School, a 2013 4Culture Arts Projects award, and more fantastic people, places, and art than I ever thought I'd know. Pilchuck, Penland, Centro de las Artes de San Agustin, Cork Marcheschi, Rob Stern, Einar & Jamex De La Torre, Scott Benefield, Cayn Thompson – these are a few of the people and communities that helped me go from backyard projects to major public and private commissions in only a few years. Influences include George Tsutekawa, Antoni Gaudi, Dan Corson, and Dale Chihuly. My sculptural lexicon sprouted from a fascination with wild process-based ceramic glaze techniques and wheel-throwing, whose place as my true expressive love was usurped upon discovery of blown and sculpted glass. Lately I have been captivated with both concrete, glass, and the power of their mutual master, diamonds. Water as a sculptural element is a perpetual interest. Though technology can mechanize and automate, I see a universe of art empowered by innovations such from the potter's wheel, to melted glass, diamond grinders, and electronic/interactive technologies - altogether unleashing the mind’s eye, exploding frontiers to intangible boundaries begging for exploration. More than a vocation or indulgence, public art is the pinnacle of my potential for positive change in the world. Opening night reactions to my hospital installation from folks in formal wear provided a sense of accomplishment, but true gratification came when I heard of its use as a tool by nurses to calm patients (as well as themselves), and talked to those I found near it appreciating a contemplative focal point while they dealt with the gravitas of lives hanging in the balance. Seeking to abandon the ego, this propagandic perpetuation of the humanist ethos of civilization is what I have taken as my Ungenda. |
most likely/adenosine tri p
is what motivates your synapse/to produce your nightly jamming orgasm/from the roof of the chasm to the down low flow/of the bass, drums and solo guitar go far/out there, be who you are as you regard the life you live as pure art. |