"E" Series Flat Head Drawing

American artist, currently residing in Western NY. My artistic influences stem from a variety of sources including SRL, Stelarc, Richard Prince, David Hockney, Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, Francis Bacon, Christo & Gianni Piacentino among others. I draw influence from high risk ventures such as auto racing where stressful conditions reshape one’s perception of being. While the writings of authors like Elaine Scarry, Peggy Phelan, the Marquis de Sade & Michel Foucault are among some the works that give shape to my thinking and processes. I draw, paint, sculpt, photograph and perform through my works. The idea and concept is alway paramount in shaping the finished product, the varied processes allowing me and the viewer different access points to perceive the ideas, deconstructing/reconstructing the subject matter. My processes often draw upon the abilities learned outside of college as a jeweler, photographer, printer and backyard mechanic, skills which were learned through apprenticeships and served as my initial sources of income. During much of this same time my undergraduate education took me along a technical path of craftsmanship in Drawing, Painting, Ceramics and Sculpture. My post undergraduate years were spent exploring and refining different techniques and paths before returning to graduate school. As a M.F.A. candidate I dove deeper into conceptually based works, meshing my myriad skills to produce visual stimulating spaces and objects that invoke a re-contemplation of previously experienced ideas. I have studied under Steve Kurtz of the art collective Critical Art Ensemble, acclaimed documentary photographer Bruce Jackson and international emerging media and bio-artist Paul Vanouse. I have been mentored by and collaborated with the multi-talented conceptual artist Gary Nickard and international sculptor Reinhard Reitzenstein. Joan Linder, who is best known for her labor-intensive drawings that transform mundane subjects into conceptually rich images has also served as a mentor to me along with contemporary art researcher Jasmina Tumbas who explores how artists use performance and conceptual art to highlight socially suppressed aspects. I have received financial awards from the Technē Institute, Divisional Honors as an undergraduate, awarded tuition wavers and teaching assistantships at the University at Buffalo and received a ceramic's grant from Alfred University while attending there.