My individual journey as an artist has allowed me to develop in what can be considered two societal extremes; growing up in condensed suburban Southern California to living in rural mid-American Iowa. This change in settings caused me to question how the environment one grows up in influences his cultural and social perspective. Within this environment exists a support structure of family, friends, and community who also play a large role in how an individual's perception develops, including concepts of honesty, integrity, and ethics- but to what extent? This question of how different circumstances and interactions define our beliefs and values is the heart of my artistic practice.

I've always welcomed and thrived on doubt from exterior sources. Proving people wrong, whether in athletics or academics, fueled me to work harder, smarter and faster. As a student-athlete at a Division I institution granted me opportunities that few students are introduced to. My four year college football career required physical and mental preparation, but it also taught me the value of attention to detail and hard work. These skills formed the foundation of my design process and as a result I am able to skillfully create functional pieces in multiple mediums. I wanted to show people that I could achieve anything that I set my mind to by using the skills that I acquired from a Division I football career, as well as my years as an undergrad. Using my creativity to manipulate different forms and design functional pieces gave me the same satisfaction as scoring a touchdown in front of thousands of fans in Kinnick Stadium. I had always been interested applying this to a career in architecture, but the University of Iowa doesn't have a specific program for architects. Balancing a similar major - Engineering- with 60 hours a week of football would have been impossible. While interviewing multiple architecture firms, as well during my time working for SGGM Architects, I have learned that an architectural degree is not necessary to make an impact in the field. Rapid technological advancements, especially in computer modeling, have allowed me to not only work and design in programs that architects use, but to use them more efficiently. I plan to use this opportunity to showcase my unique approach to designing architecture models and to demonstrate how modeling software advancements allow people without architecture degrees to plan, model and design spaces as effectively as those who do. I will also exhibit how inspiration does not come only from researching past architectural spaces, but can come from multiple design mediums that can inspire more daring and expressive architectural designs.

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An organized and systematic approach to a creative workflow is the underline basis for acquiring design success. As a nontraditional student, I have had the opportunity to gain valuable experience belonging to organizations that have developed and acquired proven systematic business models. These models were necessary for the overall success in establishing efficient training systems, maintaining quality control, product and service production, employee and customer satisfaction. The United States Armed Forces is where I first gained invaluable experience within a systematic organization. I knew there were experiences that could be gained outside of the small southern town where I was raised. This led me to join the United States Army which also provided me with the needed financial support via the military's college fund program and allowed me to pursue my educational aspirations. I have acquired a resilient mental stamina from the military's systematic step-by-step approach to problem solving. I attribute my successes I have achieved in my career and in graduate school because of this approach. This systematic approach also enabled me to successfully manage a small business for ten years. The attention to detail, discipline, alertness, etc. are other main components acquired from the military and career experiences that has allowed me to demonstrate fortitude in my collegiate studies. My master studies in 3D Design with emphasis in Product Design has required substantial research in the uses of computer modeling software, prototyping technologies and design principles. I have continued incorporating the systematic approaches into my research to achieve an efficient workflow for developing products by properly utilizing the technologies and methods necessary to achieve design success.

Cultivating the Perceived explores feelings of unrest in an Iowan landscape through automatic writing and variations on landscape painting.

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My thesis is a description of forms that appear in my paintings and drawings.

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My work is an investigation of the discursive practices effecting queer subjectivity. With a focus on the historical, cultural and psychological I am re-imagining what it means to relate in the world as a gay subject. Research and material experimentation inform the creation of metaphorical objects, images, spaces and performed actions that engage the whole of a viewer in order to disrupt, deconstruct and recreate ideas of queerness and question hegemonic hetero-normativity. The pedagogical traditions of ancient Greece, the history of gay liberation movements, AIDS and the radical resistance of ACT UP, as well as contemporary socio/political queer issues, Freudian and Lacanian psychological traditions, queer theory and political activism all have a place in my practice.

The work I've created seeks to crystallize moments of uncertainty, misgivings and insecurities I frequently experience.