What is Important?
“When an artist explains what he is doing, he usually has to do one of two things: Either scrap what he has explained, or make his work fit in with the explanation.”
Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder
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I believe there is magic in everything. It is found in every blade of grass waving in the breeze on a Summer’s day. You can feel it where rain drops wash your skin. It is heard in early morning bird song and the rustle of leaves as a squirrel forages in the Autumn. Firelight and shadow dance an enchantment under a gibbous moon. This magic is within the reach of our fingertips and as close as the end of our nose.
There is so much more to what is around us than our restrictive adult eye allows us to perceive. It is my intent to approach the world, and my art, with a child’s eye and enthusiasm. The images I create are glimpses of those places that are just around the bend of the reality in our mature minds but stir memories from our youth of portals to places strange, wonderous, and ominous. Every little detail begs examination, every ruin or darkened doorway begs exploration. The unpeopled landscapes prompt contemplation of who or what is just out of sight. The magic that surrounds us is ‘just out of sight’, until we open our eyes and take a step into our dreams and trust our intuition. It is then obvious that we are part of a limitless universe and something unique. |
PARACOSM
A Paracosm is a detailed imaginary world frequently born out of the creator’s need to escape an extended period of trauma. A rich history, detailed geography, and even language can all be hallmarks of this alternate universe. A story-space in which a new narrative can unfold.
As a queer neurodivergent artist I have struggled to find my footing in a world that my brain is not made for. I feel as if I inhabit the space in-between the mundane and my fantastical domain, a ghost caught between the physical and the ethereal. The art I create is not simply something I do because I want to and enjoy it. It is something I have to do, and it is often the antithesis of enjoyable. It is how I learned to survive growing up and living in a world my brain was not equipped for. I have been on a decades long journey in which I have been diagnosed with everything from Borderline Personality Disorder, to most recently, ADHD, Complex-PTSD, and Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria. Looking back; my childhood was a series of atrocious situations, often perpetrated by those a child should trust most. It is no wonder I created these eldritch worlds devoid of people, but rich with symbology in fantastical landscapes, ready to host a new story. A better story than the one I was living.
A smoking chimney is evidence of possible habitation, but any people are hidden or missing. I choose not to have them influence my story. These paintings are an open book of illustrations without words. There is no right or wrong way to interpret the contents of the paintings. A coffee cup, tree or treehouse, a stained glass window, or an open portal to a forest glen or distant galaxy can mean something different to each viewer. In fact, they can mean different things to me at different times in my life. what they do is create a story-space ripe with deeply personal meaning waiting for you to explore and create your own narrative free from judgement – a brief sojourn from the chaos we live with day to day. Populate as you desire. This is my paracosm, my safe space, a subjective world that I have a complex and profound relationship with. It is an alternative universe that is the result of coping with mental illness everyday of my life, a place to live another life when existence in the physical world can be unbearable. Enjoy your stay, there are as many tales to take place here as there are eyes to see it.
As a queer neurodivergent artist I have struggled to find my footing in a world that my brain is not made for. I feel as if I inhabit the space in-between the mundane and my fantastical domain, a ghost caught between the physical and the ethereal. The art I create is not simply something I do because I want to and enjoy it. It is something I have to do, and it is often the antithesis of enjoyable. It is how I learned to survive growing up and living in a world my brain was not equipped for. I have been on a decades long journey in which I have been diagnosed with everything from Borderline Personality Disorder, to most recently, ADHD, Complex-PTSD, and Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria. Looking back; my childhood was a series of atrocious situations, often perpetrated by those a child should trust most. It is no wonder I created these eldritch worlds devoid of people, but rich with symbology in fantastical landscapes, ready to host a new story. A better story than the one I was living.
A smoking chimney is evidence of possible habitation, but any people are hidden or missing. I choose not to have them influence my story. These paintings are an open book of illustrations without words. There is no right or wrong way to interpret the contents of the paintings. A coffee cup, tree or treehouse, a stained glass window, or an open portal to a forest glen or distant galaxy can mean something different to each viewer. In fact, they can mean different things to me at different times in my life. what they do is create a story-space ripe with deeply personal meaning waiting for you to explore and create your own narrative free from judgement – a brief sojourn from the chaos we live with day to day. Populate as you desire. This is my paracosm, my safe space, a subjective world that I have a complex and profound relationship with. It is an alternative universe that is the result of coping with mental illness everyday of my life, a place to live another life when existence in the physical world can be unbearable. Enjoy your stay, there are as many tales to take place here as there are eyes to see it.
Who Am I |
I am a child of the night
And a cousin to the morning, My mother is the moon And my father is the sun. The Spirit of the Earth Flows through me. My feet play in the boundless waters And my fingers touch the stars. Find me at twilight stitching the Mists of Mystery in visions surreal. This is who I am; Tiger, bat, and owl. I am man and Spirit being, All at once and none at all. |
Exhibition History |
December 2019 Gresham City Hall, Myth and Magic, Gresham, OR
November - December 2015 Mark Wooley Gallery, Portland, OR November - December 2015 Solo Show, Scandals, Portland, OR November - December 2014 Solo Show, Scandals, Portland, OR April 2014 Group Show, The Goodfoot, Portland, OR December 2013 Solo Show, The Q Center, Portland, OR November 2013 I Am Therefore I Think, The Goodfoot, Portland, OR September 2013 The 88 Strong Show, The Goodfoot, Portland, OR September 2013 Fall Show, Portland Art Museum/Rental Sales Gallery, Portland, OR August 2013 Carnival/Carnivale, Mark Woolley Gallery & Peoples Art of Portland, Portland, OR August 2013 Solo Show, Scandals, Portland, OR July 2013 Group Show, The Goodfoot, Portland, OR May 2013 Little Art/Big Cause, Scandals, Portland, OR May 2013 The Art Auction, Cascade Aids Project, Portland, OR April 2013 Oregonology, Peoples Art of Portland, Portland, OR April 2013 Spring Show, Portland Art Museum/Rental Sales Gallery, Portland, OR February 2013 Love of Portland, People’s Art of Portland & Mark Wooley Gallery, Portland, OR December 2012 The Big 300, People’s Art of Portland & Mark Wooley Gallery, Portland, OR September 2012 New Brow Show, Portland Center for the Performing Arts, Portland, OR September 2012 The Super 88 Show, The Goodfoot, Portland, OR July 2012 Scandals, Portland, OR Jun 2012 The Goodfoot, Portland, OR May 2012 Little Art/Big Cause, Scandals, Portland, OR April 2012 The Art Auction, Cascade Aids Project, Portland, OR April 2012 Graeter Art Gallery, Portland, OR February 2012 The Love Show, Launchpad Gallery, Portland, OR December 2011 The Big 200, People’s Art of Portland & Mark Wooley Gallery, Portland, OR November 2011 I Think, Therefore I Am, The Goodfoot, Portland, OR October 2011 The Mark Stewart Gallery, Portland, OR September 2011 The New Brow Show, Portland Center for the Performing Arts, Portland, OR September 2011 Lizard Lounge, Portland, OR September 2011 The Super 88 Show, The Goodfoot, Portland, OR August 2011 The Goodfoot, Portland, OR July 2011 Scandals, Portland, OR June 2011 Vinyl Redux, Chicago, IL May 2011 Little Art/Big Cause, Scandals, Portland, OR April 2011 Portal Gallery, Portland, OR April 2011 The Art Auction, Cascade Aids Project, Portland, OR February 2011 The Love Show, Launchpad Gallery, Portland, OR December 2010 The Big 100, The Goodfoot, Portland, OR November 2010 Facing Fear, Launchpad Gallery, Portland, OR October 2010 Day of the Dead, Lunar Boy Gallery, Astoria, OR September 2010 Outside the Box, Po’ Boy Art, Portland, OR August 2010 Scandals, Portland, OR July 2010 Proximity, Launch Pad Gallery, Portland, OR (Co-curated with Patrick M. Dacey) May 2010 International Exhibition, Surrealism Now, Colmbra, Portugal (juried, group) May 2010 The Goodfoot Lounge, Portland, OR (group) April 2010 Rainy Day Wildfires, Portland City Art, Portland, OR (group) March 2010 Spring Show of New Art, Portland Art Museum Rental/Sales Gallery, Portland, OR (juried, group) March 2010 The City and Elsewhere (with April O'Connor), Lunar Boy Gallery, Astoria, OR February 2010 4th Annual Love Show, Portland City Art, Portland, OR (group) December 2009 Zeit of Drawing, Climate Gallery, New York November 2009 Enterbeing, Portland, Oregon October 2009 Fall Show of New Art, Portland Art Museum Rental/Sales Gallery, Portland, OR (juried, group) November 2009 Enterbeing, Portland, OR (solo) March 2009 CAP Benefit Auction, Portland, OR (Honorable Mention, Juried, group) February 2009 3rd Annual Love Show, Portland, OR (juried group) Nov. 2008 Adapt or Perish, The Core Gallery, Portland, OR (solo) June 2008 New Artists, Portland Art Museum Rental/Sales Gallery, Portland, OR (juried, group) May 2008 Milepost Five, Portland, OR (juried, group) April 2008 Persistence Of Being, Rake Gallery, Portland, OR (juried, group) March 2008 Alphabet Soup, Mark Woolley @ Wonder, Portland, OR (juried, group) Flip The Bird Deux, Lunarboy Gallery, Astoria, OR (juried, group) Cirque, Cascade Aids Project, Portland Convention Center, Portland, OR (juried, group) Surrealism, The Way Post, Portland, OR (juried, group) February 2008 2nd Annual Love Show, Launch Pad Gallery, Portland, OR (juried, group) Dec. 2007 PDX Panel Show, Portland Art Center.Portland, OR (group) Nov. 2007 The Parallel World, The Core Gallery, Portland, OR (solo) Sept. 2007 Lizard Lounge, Portland, OR (solo) July 2007 The Poster Garden, Portland, OR (solo) Chalk It Up To Literacy, Oregon Literacy Society, Pioneer Square, Portland, OR (group) Dec. 2006 Crystal Ballroom, Urban Art Network, Portland, OR (group) Drawn From Experience, Backspace, Portland, OR (group) July 2006 Chalk It Up To Literacy, Oregon Literacy Society, Pioneer Square, Portland, OR (group) January 2006 Round Two, Oddball Studio, Portland, OR (solo) Dec. 2005 XII, Backspace, Portland, OR (group, juried) July 2005 Sake One, Forest Grove, OR (solo) May 2005 Northrup Station Inn, Portland, OR (group) October 2003 CO7,. Portland, OR (group, juried) May 2001 Representation Of Self, Wild Banana Gallery, Wailuku, HI (juried, group) October 2000 Erotic Exotic Ball, Wild Banana Gallery, Wailuku, HI (group) 2000-2001 Ki’I Gallery, Wailea, HI 1996-1997 Among Friends Gallery, Peninsula, OH 1995-1996 Artist’s Way Gallery, Monroe Falls, OH 1988-1991 Crandall Art Center, MUC, Alliance, OH |