Artistically speaking, I’ve recently developed and obligated myself to the Go Big or Go Home (Again!) Theory. I’ve been kicking around some ideas for work for some time now but have lacked the time, space, energy, and/or funds to create. This is nothing new but it’s not impossible and I’ve had opportunities in the past (then taken for granted), to, for simplicity’s sake, “get my shit together.” But I’ve always had to learn my lessons the hard way and as multiple-jobbed-year passes multiple-jobbed-year I feel I’m finally ready to stop being so submissive in my own life. Go Big or Go Home (Again!) is a demand for better art, noting my own art school failures (i.e. no money, depression/underaged alcohol abuse, familial situations, etc. culminating in my choice to take a leave from SAIC).

Now as any obnoxious, self-promoting, collegiate, professor will tell you, in order to make art you’ve got to look at art. As a student, I found myself intimidated by a never-ending list of modern artists that I didn’t feel had anything to do with my practice. Name dropping became a gross necessity. What I didn’t realize then is that you have to build a certain vocabulary/Rolodex of artists and their works and then, and only then, can you sift through the clutter and focus on what will inspire you to create your own work. While I still tend to focus on images versus names, (unless I feel they need cataloging for further review), I am keen on the works of Sebastian Errazuriz. His were images I had apparently seen long ago, but with only casual fascination, fell to the back burner. The other day I came across his latest work 12 Shoes for 12 Lovers and instantly needed to jot a name down. Combining fashion, design, shoe fetish, and personal narrative, 12 Shoes just felt genuine and solidified an idea for a series that I’ve been carrying around in my head. Shown are some digital sketches I made to get the creative juices flowing…

UPCOMING EVENTS: RISD Staff/Faculty Exhibition @ Woods-Gerry Gallery; AS220 Black Xmas Flea Market! Check back in the next few weeks for more details/updates!