A calling for authenticity, championing merit in a disposable world, and digging in the dirt for clues to what holds us together.
About the Artist
I’m a failed physics professor and fiction writer, turned artist only after trying to fit my love of magic into more traditional boxes. What most compels me about being an artist is the calling for authenticity, championing merit in a disposable world, and digging in the dirt for clues to what holds us together.Artist's Statement
I make art out of things from our everyday lives. Through the context of these materials—their purpose and place in our lives—I explore inherent values and meanings, fascinated by our collective beliefs and their reflections in the world around us. In practice, this involves breaking down materials from books to discarded clothing, seeking out color and shape, and building structural collages. Preserved with resin, my work takes on a jewel-like, reflective finish, provoking a closer look at what lies below the surface.Featured Work
Photos
Featured Work: Photos
Flame, Flight, & Flower
A Velocity of Being - book
2022
I constructed a series of four pieces from a book I've had on my nightstand for many years, A Velocity of Being: Letters to a Young Reader. It's a collection of 121 letters from people of note about their love of reading alongside beautifully paired illustrations. Much of its contents gets down to the core of our connection to one another, and this is the spirit with which I approached the series.
Our Every Single Face Within
caps & old photographs
2020
A vibrant exploration of memory, how we store events from the past and recall the people and experiences that matter to us most.
The Unwinding
The Unwinding - book by Jackie Morris
2023
Made out of discarded books, this series, which began during the pandemic, celebrates our connection to one another and the transformative power of the stories we share.
The Quiet Music of Gently Falling Snow
The Quiet Music of Gently Falling Snow - book by Jackie Morris
2023
Made out of discarded books, this series, which began during the pandemic, celebrates our connection to one another and the transformative power of the stories we share.
Don't Feed the Animals
catalogs and old magazines
2020
I chose to work with catalogs and old magazines as an examination of their presence in our lives. On the surface, they’re simply harmless advertising, something to fill the recycle bin. However, they also epitomize a world of want, all the stuff we covet, the bodies we wish we had, the lifestyles representative of success and happiness. In these very colorful and enticing ways, they act as chains binding us to lives other than those we inhabit.
The Peace of Wild Things
discarded clothing
2023
More and more of us are being drawn into this conversation with one another, deciphering how to move around in a world gone mad and to make sense of ourselves and our place in it. I know this because we talk about it in my studio, relieved to connect in person, however briefly, and to do so with hope. What is our responsibility to one another? How do we work together toward the common good?
My current work is an exploration of these questions through the use of discarded clothing, which represents everything from survival to status and belonging. Working with fiber is an ancient art, part of every human culture, and so, drawing on this rich context, I'm creating a new series of works exploring the complexities of human connection and community--how we create a future worthy of us all.
Videos
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3Q Interview