About
I am a teaching artist living in Tennessee. I studied art education at Middle Tennessee State University in the early 2000’s. I was able to work with Cindy Rehm and Tom Thayer as trusted mentors during this time period to refine my interests in art as a vehicle for personal transformation and discovery. I’ve been teaching high school visual art for 18 years now and I’ve managed to stay active in my own studio pursuits during this time. I find that cultivating a passionate studio practice has helped me connect better with my students as they dig deep into the mysteries and rewards of the creative process. My work in painting often coincides with musical and sound-art activities and the processes often influence each other. I live a quiet life with my lovely wife Allyson and my cat Cosey.
My current visual work delves into the uncanny world of southern professional wrestling. I’ve sourced many of the images from footage of the Tennessee territory in the 1980’s. I am intentionally distorting the screens while viewing this footage and then abstracting the imagery further through loose, gestural brushwork. My intention is to draw out the undercurrent of psychological turmoil that is taking place on the stage that is the wrestling ring. I see the battles there transforming into masses of flesh and movement that can potentially hint at some greater unknown lurking in our or collective unconscious.