This is really exciting. I’ve never had a website before! I tried blogging a long time ago in high school when I thought people might care about my thoughts, but I never expected I would have the opportunity to put my portfolio online for the whole world to see! It’s a little nerve-wracking! I mean, when I was young showing my artwork was sort of an intimate gesture. Now I’m submitting it for the approval of the whole world! I guess that’s growth. In any case, I am elated to be here, and I hope you enjoy my work. I hope you’ll keep coming to visit to see works in progress, new additions, and of course to keep in touch.

Currently, my main goal is preparation for the SETC conference in December. I’m really looking forward to talking to everyone and spreading my net a little wider. This conference was the main reason I have been racing for the finish on this website. I apologize that it’s not super Mobile friendly, my web developer and I are working on making it more phone and tablet accessible.

Some interesting projects in the works right now are a giant 12-foot tall puppet I am building for Logan Utah’s Lyric Repertory Theater’s production of A Christmas Carol. It’s one of the three ghosts of Christmas (The Ghost of Christmas Present). This is actually the second larger-than-life puppet I have ever worked on (the first being “truly horrific” from Shockheaded Peter. These projects are always a beast to get proportions down on because your proximity to an insanely large object warps your perspective. Plus, the designer opted for vacuum-formed objects which cut down significantly on weight but are difficult to firm up; That is, to make it rigid because vacuum form plastic is generally very flimsy. We have been trying to get GreatStuff spray foam to work but, unfortunately, the enclosed pieces haven’t been able to get a lot of air to dry the foam. So a lot of that spray foam has been dripping out of the cracks and making a sticky mess. So far it’s not a huge issue, the joints and such still work but it’ll be some time before I make it look clean and proper.

In other news, I have begun the design phase on a theoretical design for the KCACTF competition this spring. The Lion in Winter is a particular favorite of mine due to its medieval setting. I’m also going to be doing hybrid rendering. Half alcohol markers and half on photoshop. I haven’t had the means to purchase a tablet or Procreate and have been working with photoshop on my computer and a knockoff drawing pad I got on amazon. It’s helpful but not nearly fast enough to make it a worthy investment. But it is good for post edits.

The final thing that I’m looking forward to most is my Honors Capstone project. I am an amateur blacksmith and a hobbyist medieval combatant with the Armored Combat Worldwide (ACW) league. I truly enjoy designing and making apparel for this new, up-and-coming sport, and it’s high time I make armor for myself. In short, because there is much more to come, I will be making a soft kit comprising of the jacket and pants and shoes that go underneath the armor, and the full plate set of 15th-century armor itself. You can scroll down on my home page to the “Works in Progress” section for picture updates.

Thanks for keeping up with me and my projects! I hope you’ll come back for some more. Have a good one!