I’m so excited that I can barely sit still. 2014 is going to be one of the most special and memorable years of my life. This year is my 20th anniversary of making art. I started in the basement of my parent’s home when I was 16 years old. Back then I didn’t even call it Art, or myself an artist. I just knew I’d found an enormous sense of peace when breaking household items and then attaching them back together again in a different way. I’d spend endless hours in the cold damp and moldy basement with a hammer in one hand and my inhaler in the other. The mold brought on my asthma, but I fought through it because it was the only place in the house that I could use spray paint, saws, and whatever else I deemed necessary when creating. 20 years later and now at the age of 36, I am still doing the same thing just on a larger scale. We are all proud of certain things about ourselves. What I am proud to say the most about myself, (besides being blessed with 2 gorgeous children), is that no matter what I have ever been through over these last 20 years, I have never stopped creating art and searching for more effective ways to connect with others. Whether I was in New Hampshire or New York, Louisville or L.A., strung out on Heroin or sobering up in a half way house, I have always found comfort when using my imagination as a tool to manifest intimacy.
1 year ago, my girlfriend, 4-year old son, and I packed our bags and what we could fit into a 9x12ft trailer and drove across the country to move from NY to The Bay. We had no family out here, no jobs lined up, no apartment lined up, very little funds, and we had never even visited San Francisco before. I just had a feeling inside that this was where I was supposed to be while pursuing this Art Dream of mine. After one solid year here now, we can proudly say that all of our dreams are coming true! My girlfriend got an amazing job in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, my beautiful son got into an amazing elementary school, and for 365 days straight I have been making my Art. We moved into an enormous and completely original old warehouse that we call home. 20 foot ceilings, raw space, and truck loads of sunlight pouring in through our rusted out windows. We are really living our dreams and most importantly teaching our son how to follow his. I used to be afraid to mention the wonderful things that would happen to me because I always felt that the moment someone did that, then it would all soon fall apart. However, I am done with that way of thinking! Life is glorious and our Dreams are 100% achievable! There will be pain and tragedy, and there will be excitement and success, but as long as we are motivated and genuine in regards to following our dreams, then we can never stray to far from peace. There is still so much I want to build, so many people I want to meet, so many ideas that I want to see come into fruition, and so much Love to give! Thank you for taking this journey with me, for supporting my Art, for believing in yourself, and for shooting for the stars! There simply is no other way to live life in my opinion. No one can take away or change our dreams! We are the captains of our destinies and I want to taste it all…
