Folk Art Sewing

 Added to July 28, 2019
Jul 282019
 

My sewing machine has been in a box for about 5 years. It’s been too long. I also tend to get excited and carried away with “new” things. I stayed up till 3:30am sewing this strange shoulder bag… It has a zipper pocket for my wallet and phone, one for pens, a notebook, a separate reinforced area for my laptop, and even a side pouch that perfectly fits a can of Pabst.

Besides the quirky style, I wanted to put myself into the work. Hidden on the back is a mandala I made. I took a photograph of sparklers, manipulated the image into a circular pattern, then printed onto fabric and sewed it in… It’s far from perfect, fraying and odd, but I consider myself a folk artist when it comes to sewing. I do it my own way and make up my own plans as I work.

Seek Imperfection

 Added to July 15, 2019
Jul 152019
 

I stayed up late finalizing a body of work I began in 2016 (hope to release it soon). In going through all my images, I began contemplating photography. It is a strange art form. It seems to be overly obsessed with the idea of perfection and quality. Paint is paint, clay is clay. The camera, however, is an ever-evolving device, and as technology improves, the camera betters itself again and again. This is great, but also one of the biggest downfalls for any creative.

I understand that I have uncommon views on the medium, but I think photographers should focus less effort in obsessing over quality, perfection, equipment, and details – and instead worry more about being imagemakers. What do you want to tell your viewer? What does the image say? In all honesty, I don’t think most viewers care about all the little things as much as they do the emotion, the feeling, and the experience. I think the better photographers get hung up on these things instead.

Creature In The Flames

 Added to July 6, 2019
Jul 062019
 

When it comes to patterns and symmetry, my work seems to get too complex and overwhelmingly visual. I wanted to try something more simple… This image is made up of one photograph of flames. I soaked a piece of rope in alcohol and lit it on fire.

I began duplicating a bunch of the images to see what the negative space looked like. This one was really interesting. Of course, psychologically our brains try to find something to relate to in abstract imagery, especially symmetric. I see a creature in this piece – a silhouetted meditating being glowing at the edges. Simple, yet engaging.

Lightning Storm

 Added to July 3, 2019
Jul 032019
 

Got some all-natural, organic, free-range fireworks happening tonight for the 4th of July celebration… Most lightning I have seen in a while. If I had more time I would have set up all my equipment on the balcony and tried for some more shots. Instead I grabbed my camera and ran outside for less than one minute. Hey, results are results.

The Dreaming State