Exquisite Arts Magazine Vol 1 - July/ August 2016 | Page 58

of Art in foundations at Saginaw Valley State University.
How did you get started in the arts? Tell us
about yourself.
I was a late bloomer. Out of curiosity, I started making
art when I was 17. I was lucky enough to have a recent
MFA graduate from the University of Michigan, Mr.
Kevin Brady, as a student teacher in my high school. On
emotional content, Kevin taught art in a scientific way
that was based heavily on theory, technique and light on.
It was also more about thinking and less about notions of
natural talent. I love science, so his approach to image
making increased my natural curiosity.
I went to Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan
and worked closely with Mr. Don Kerr, whose approach
was heavily based on the psychology of visual
perception. He taught me about an obscure teaching
technique pioneered by his teaching mentor, Hoyt
Sherman, from Ohio State University. Hoyt used a
system that he called the Flash Lab, where he taught
students to draw in total darkness using a tachistocope
that flashed a slide image for a tenth of a second. The
flash created an after image that the students duplicated
on their paper in the darkness. I was so intrigued by this
process that I attended The Ohio State University for my
MFA to research, rebuild, and test Hoyt's equipment.
During my time at OSU I was taught by a number of
faculty and visiting artists who broadened and developed
my interests.
I was also welcomed by the faculty in the Psychology
Department's Vision Laboratory where I learned about
research conducted by vision scientists. I then worked at
MOCA Cleveland where I was influenced by a great
staff and the work of a number of contemporary artists.
My single greatest influence during that time was the
work of James Casebere, who creates architectural
models that he stages and photographs. I moved to
Michigan almost eleven years ago and have been
teaching for nine years at Saginaw Valley State
University where I have been influenced by the
wonderful community of faculty and students. The entire
time I have been making a wide variety of work.

Where does your inspiration come from?
I try not to think too much about where my inspiration
comes from. I look for ideas and image making methods
that have the most potential. Teaching foundations:
Introduction to Drawing & 2-D and 3-D design, I am
consistently reminded that simplicity often offers the
most potential. Imagine a kid ditching the toy so they
can play with the box that it came in. This makes sense
to me because the box has much more potential for
creativity than the toy does.

What do you enjoy most about digital
artistry?
There are three things that I enjoy about working
digitally. First, I can work efficiently through a large
number of iterations without fear of making mistakes
because I can always go back to a previous state of the

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image. There is an absolutely amazing economy and
sense of freedom because nothing is lost. Secondly and
similarly, it is less wasteful and has a negligible impact
on natural resources and the environment when
compared to traditional painting. Finally, digital work is
inherently shareable. It has the potential to do for art
what the Gutenberg press did for the written word. Its
initial state is digital so there is no corruption of the
image as is the potential when photographing works for
display on digital platforms. That being said, I still enjoy
painting with traditional materials. I find that digital
work informs my analog process.

Your work is outstanding and it’s very creative.
How important is creativity to you?
Thank you. I used to think about creativity a lot, I don't so
much anymore. I think about the process of making art
more like catching fish, an analogy that a good friend of
mine, painter Michael Garguillo, learned from a mentor
of his and shared with me. Basically, it has taken me a
long time and many years of failure but now I have
confidence. I kn