Chronology:

I grew up epitomizing Gen X ways, born in ’78 in the California Bay Area. I have a competitive nature, so sports were a good place. In high school and needing a non-contact sport, I found rowing at Oakland Strokes and about that same time, I took the Crafts class at my public high school where I learned how to throw on the pottery wheel. The combination of athletics and art became a theme.

I graduated high school in ’97, and moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington, and row for the Huskies. UW was the fastest program in the country, and it was eye opening to say the least. I rowed for four years for UW which was a defining experience. In the summer before my fourth year, while working as a mechanic at a local bike shop, I was held up at gunpoint. Trauma has a way of delivering perspective, very quickly at times. In both a reaction and a response, I committed to making art.

Finding my way to the Art building, then to the Ceramics department meant I found both the material I needed to work in and the community of people I felt at home with. I received significant mentorship from Jamie Walker, Akio Takamori, and Doug Jeck amongst others. While studying at UW, and researching contemporary ceramic artists, two things kept coming up; the MFA and The Archie Bray Foundation. All of my professors and the artists I admired had an MFA and had spent time at the Bray. The goal of graduate school and making it to the Bray as a resident artist was planted. I earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramics and a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Visual Art with a minor in Art History, graduating in 2004. The work from that time:

After college and following the dream of getting good enough to go to graduate school and the Bray, I moved to Anchorage Alaska to study with Steve Godfrey. I also wanted the adventure of living in Alaska. I made a portfolio, applied to the top five MFA programs, and was rejected by all of them. It was a difficult time. Examples from the portfolio that didn’t get in:

Godfrey was incredibly supportive, as was the community, and I was granted the opportunity to give it another year of trying. I worked construction learning some useful skills, and made a new portfolio. This is where a distinct shift in style happened. I also had some amazing Alaska adventures and ate way too much salmon. I reapplied to the same schools, and got in to my first pick at Ohio University. The work from the portfolio that got in:

Graduate school ran from 2006-2009, and was a pressure cooker filled with ambition, failure, learning, fear, and wonderful people. Brad Schwieger, Alex Hibbit, and many others gave a level of mentorship combined with challenge that was exactly what I needed. Examples of the work I made during graduate school:

One of the major changes made during graduate school was the move away from wheel throwing to slip casting as the primary forming method. I left Ohio with momentum and a head full of ideas for Red Lodge Clay Center as a year long resident. Examples from the portfolio leaving grad school in 2009:

The year at Red Lodge was spent trying to actualize the concepts and techniques discovered during graduate school. It was a great time to make a lot of work, and begin selling work on a more professional basis. The support of the Hiltner family was a true gift. While there, I was accepted to The Bray, realizing a dream that was set in motion ten years earlier. The work from Red Lodge:

Arriving at The Bray in 2010 to be a long term artist in residence was simultaneously exhilarating, daunting, inspiring, and intimidating among other feelings. I had met my goal of getting to The Bray, and it was not the time to rest and enjoy. There were too many deadlines and a truly unique opportunity to work at the Bray was not to be squandered. I worked in the studio non-stop, taught evening community classes, worked as the kiln tech, participated in 57 shows from 2010 to 2012, won some awards, and didn’t know exactly what to do next. I was taught some hard lessons about the business of selling art, and was exceptionally fortunate to encounter a steady stream of the most amazing and brilliant people that the Bray seems to attract. After two years, there was not a new clear professional goal to work towards besides making money to live, and severe burnout was a complicated mess of feelings. Some images from that time, full summary of works is on the Portfolio page:

Me and my wife had both become worn out of chasing opportunities around the country again, and wanted to choose where they live and be able to make lasting local relationships. We also really wanted a dog. The monetary and emotional costs of relocating had been very expensive. Instead of chasing an opportunity, they chose Seattle. Partially for the old network, and mostly for the natural, social, and political climates. It turned into one of the best decisions we ever made. We were again fortunate to have people who believed in us and welcomed us “home”.

Retuning to Seattle, I worked again as a club rowing coach sourcing my prior experience and network. Being back on the water, involved in competitive athletics, was deeply fulfilling in an old familiar way. I made a small amount of artwork, mostly tinkering with old ideas that were never explored, while also teaching at the University of Washington in the 3D4M department as an adjunct professor. It was always designed as a short term opportunity, and it was awesome. It was long days working three part time jobs, and it resulted in being hired for one full time job at Charles Wright Academy just down the road in Tacoma. Photographs I took from the coaching launch:

Starting in Tacoma in 2014 was an exciting new chapter. It was also a tremendous amount of work trying to get established. Not having a studio was difficult, but the creative burnout depression lingered and I wanted to do other projects. I wanted to get really good at teaching high school art. I also wanted to live life more, and get good at homebrewing and golf and learning how to smoke various meats on questionably rigged smokers. In hindsight, working at Charles Wright was wonderful until 2020, when the whole world changed, and education along with it.

Three life altering experiences happened in this time, I got sick, then I got hurt, and then I had friends die. Heart surgery to fix a valve and ankle surgery to fix a wound. Both successful, both resulting in pushing back my natural horizon. The byproduct of heart surgery was PTSD and anxiety. Something about having the body turned off by anesthesia with the heart stopped for repair, left my mind deeply confused. A short couple of years later, a nasty tissue injury on my ankle and an irresponsible doctor landed me back in the ICU with blood clots in both lungs. It was bad. The pandemic didn’t help. The loss of mentors and loved ones was emotionally stacking. Again, trauma has a way of delivering perspective.

I had changed, and my work changed with me. About this time I discovered Razzle Dazzle camouflage. I had never really thought about what a purely functional surface motif is. A type of “decoration” that had true purpose beyond personal expression. Being a true functionalist, I had always struggled with how/why to treat the surfaces of my forms, which I felt were my strength. Dazzle gave me a framework and permission to take the surfaces to another level. Here are some source images and early efforts towards Dazzling pots:

After the return to in-person learning in 2021, yet another new administration was installed. It went as bad as it could go over the next few of years, and I left the school in 2024 after teaching there for 10 years. I left along with about 70% of the other employees.

I broke down. I took some time. With the help of my wife and friends and counselor, I made a new version of myself. Recovery is not an easy path, or a straight one. I offer my diagnosis to be part of the movement to normalize mental health discussions. My mixture of severe depression, anxiety, and PTSD are not recommended, 0 out of 10 experience. Getting help and treatment and long dog walks and incredible friends is recommended, 11 out of 10.

The perspective I gained from all of this is that life is meant to be lived to its fullest while we have the chance. What this means for me is risking being an independent full time artist. You can see what I make now in the Portfolio and Shop pages. Thanks for being here.