This is a loaded question, as there have been many over the years, but my main takeaway is clear: certain people, artists, and influences have played major roles in fine-tuning my style and technical execution.

First and foremost, patrons, family, friends, and strangers believed in me and supported me physically and emotionally, even when they could not understand me or where I was going. As a result, what I create would not have been possible without them.

Lovers and creatives that I have had chapters with also played a massive role through our shared compulsions to work with our hands and hearts- through pain, loss, triumphs, and surprises. We have been catalysts and muses to each other. It showed in the way our work took on new dimensions as we shared materials, techniques, experimentation, and emotional engagement. 

Hive gallery owner and esoteric artist himself, Nathan Cartwright, has given me opportunities to showcase years of skills based on my portfolio, with my first feature in April of 2023. Over the past few years, he and his fellow bees have helped to push me further into what I now know is possible. From opening nights to sculpting sessions, The Hive has been life-changing in inspiring me to ground the fantastical in steady, progressive purpose.

Beksinski and Geiger (and pretty much everyone at The Morpheus Gallery) have been a heavy inspiration for Fantastic/Dark Surrealist artists. Their dreamlike, atmospheric, and texture-heavy use of media, combined with layered symbolism, left a mark that makes it easy to see their influence in my work, particularly in the drawings and landscapes. Beksinski’s work still brings me to tears, and Geiger’s Major Arcana deck is an ever-present reminder of how art and ritual can be utilized.

Allen Williams’ work and more have shown me all that is possible with graphite and practice. His work is not flashy, but it draws you into a space of unparalleled precision, stillness, and beauty.

Kim Krans, who illustrated and self-published her decks before they were picked up, expanded my mind into the land of oracle decks and the power of self-determination.

Alternative fashion designers Yohji Yamamoto, Gareth Pugh, Ann Demeulemeester, Alexander McQueen, and Colleen Atwood have also influenced my sense of style and expression.

Honorable mentions: George Orwell, Bukowski, Poe, Lovecraft, Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Jackson Dean Chase, Teal Swan, Nikola Tesla, Jordan Maxwell, Michael Tsarion, Mark Passio, Derrick Broze and the Conscious Resistance, Special Covens and Mystics (too many to mention), Kahlil Gibran, “Genesis” of Psychic TV, and countless movies and shows such as Everything, Everywhere, All at Once, Interstellar, Pi, The Laughing Man, The Joker, Bill + Ted, Interview with the Vampire, Wake Up Dead Man, Young Frankenstein, Undone, The Maxx, The Golden Girls, The Dinosaurs, Our Planet, ...

 I took a couple of years off, part-time, to attend community college because holding down a job had been a very long struggle. I had intended to double-major in fine art and fashion design before I knew I was autistic and understood why the traditional system was not aligned with me. That time in class was still useful, though I never graduated. I learned digital programs I use daily for my art designs and hybrid digital paintings. I also learned the basics of patternmaking, which, combined with my experience on industrial sewing machines, helps me create unique costumes for my sculptures and construct ritual garb to this day. In some art classes, I was introduced to new media such as watercolor pencils and graphite smudge sticks, which solidified my desire to be a mixed-media artist. It took me many years to find the right avenue for my skills within my personal mission, one that was not sabotaged by a lack of novelty or by my need for order and forward movement toward excellence. I needed to work with how my INFJ and neurodivergent brain worked, rather than against it, or I would be forever doomed to have who I was and all I was capable of be filed away in the boxes of “what-ifs”. 

Funnily enough, I never took classes in painting or sculpture, aside from my pre-college days, when I took ceramics as an elective in high school. Even then, I was moved up to independent study, for I learned very quickly and was often fast-tracked through courses that held my interest, while in others that did not, I was held back. This was evidence of a spikey profile on the autism spectrum. It would be a pattern to learn to love it for its strengths, rather than loathe it by comparison with others’ capabilities and expectations.

Mostly, I learned a great deal through trial and error, observation, and personal study. On rare occasions, I received mentoring advice when it was offered, and I could not troubleshoot on my own, but most of my progress came from working things out myself.

It starts with an intuitive idea and physical research, perhaps a chicken-scratch sketch.

I then gather the materials (gemstones, natural elements, fabrics, hardware, clay, etc.) and put them into a box for the current project to keep me organized.

Armature is next: wires, tin foil, masking tape, sometimes plastic bases.

Once the proportions are right and the pose is determined, the clay is added in layers- muscles, facial expressions, gestures of fingers. I mainly use a heat gun and work on the face/skull first. The hands and feet are last.

Textures are also added, such as wrinkles and pores.

The painting is next. I prefer acrylics in layers. A burnt umber wash is a staple for me to get into the texture and bring out depth.

Resin, polyurethane, glue, and Modgepodge are used as needed: for eyes, fingernails, and the mouth.

Then the natural elements are added. Feathers are great for eyelashes and hair, so they are glued into place. Gemstones, sticks, seeds, etc., are added with faux moss.

If there is a fabric costume or fur, then it is made and added to the sculpture. The fabric costumes can be quite detailed and mostly hand-sewn. Patterns can also be made based on the sculpt's measurements. Cloth buttons, ruffling, darts, boning channels, etc., and other techniques for full-size clothing construction are applied on a smaller scale.

A base and setting may also be used to encapsulate the piece or to provide an anchor.

As with most of my work, I use a mixed-media technique.

The start is also the same as most of my work: intuitive ideas, physical research, and a light sketch.

If I am working on a large or complex piece, I project the sketch onto the canvas or paper to be copied, maintaining the proportions. It is still chicken scratch, but it lays the foundations.

And as with the sculptures, my current project box gets filled with any relevant gemstones, trims (for frames), natural elements, leafing (sometimes genuine, sometimes faux), etc.

If the piece is going to be sculptural, then the semi-sculpts are done first in high or low relief, and then other layers are completed. Most of my pieces get custom-framed or bordered.

Digital paintings always start with a physical drawing/painting, and then get put into Photoshop for additional painting.

Sigils are such an integral element in my body of work, so I created a specific post as a deep dive, Sigils: The Ley Lines of Sacred Geometry, so you can read that to further explore my process.

I am also currently studying the Taroscopes system by Michael Tsarion, which adds more dimensions to one's birth chart by identifying the tarot cards associated with one's energetic and physical makeup.

1. Decks (Early-release coming soon)
2. Any Original Gallery Art: See Portfolio and Contact for price and availability.
3. Upon Approved Request:

• Commissions
• Prints
• Custom Frames
• 1-1 Creative and/ or Spiritual Guidance Sessions
• Collaborations
• Resale Permissions

My dedication piece to Ozzy, "CHANGES", is now on its way to Japan for a couple of showings and an art fair after it finished up in L.A. and Oakland in Southern California.

I am working on my sculpture feature for The Hive's Master Blaster's show in November, and then my piece for their group Tarot show in January. Other than that, I'll keep adding to my portfolio and blog here, and progress my first few personal decks.

Lots of experiential wisdom and active study through an innate curiosity and intense drive for a better world.

I take my value system, mission, and life seriously, but I am certainly not above laughing (and sometimes screaming) at the sky at the comedic timing of what seems like utter chaos in the moment. A sense of humor, ability to go with the unexpected, and trust yourself to land on your feet are important-something I am always fine-tuning and striving for. I am not a humble person, but I am grateful: I have worked hard (as a recovering people-pleaser) to counter imposter syndrome, and a host of internal and external factors to become who I am and offer what I offer. I take pride in myself, that does not mean I am better than anyone else, or that there is no room for me to learn: Quite the contrary- I know what I do, because I see the Teacher and Student in everyone (including myself). I would not be here without the knowledge, lessons, gifts of kindness, and more from others.

I plan to share my personal story in the future; in the meantime, you can look through my blog posts, read my personal mission, and get to know me better.

I am not a Dogmatic person, so I do not lock myself into old mythologies without accounting for the variables of human intervention and understanding.

What I am is someone who sees the world (inner and outer) through the lens of my values, which are Bohemian in Nature. They are not in any hierarchical order, but symbiotic with themselves and Natural Law. They are my non-negotiables, and they have no limits on how they manifest but do have structure. They include:

• Truth
• Freedom
• Beauty
• Love

Examples of how this looks in practical form:

• I support complete body autonomy (from medical treatments to sexual orientations).
• I support freedom of speech and expression and abhor censorship. I believe in the capability of humans to decide for themselves and face the consequences as a part of growth and personhood, and no one should rule over another in that process- especially those prone to greed, propaganda, and corruption.
• I have been a friend and lover to people with views that can be beneficial and detrimental to me and others; they have all been a blend of lessons and gifts.
• I do not see good/bad people, but rather varying degrees of healing and unhealing made manifest.
• I am not for everyone, and everyone is not for me, but I aim to find common ground over differences and gauge compatibility through preferences.
• I draw lines where needed and show admiration where due. At the end of the day, I believe intent does not trump action, and patterns are key. I place myself near or far depending on these things. I am patiently discerning in these matters, not indecisive or fickle.

Read my personal mission to dive deeper into my views and how they inform what I choose to create.