From early November through December I was living at Oceti Sakowin, the prayerful camp resisting the North Dakota Access Pipeline. One of my intentions for making the trip was to capture the untold narrative of the people present at Oceti. I spent days offering my time, in labor and prayer. Integrating myself into the community helped make me new friends and acquaintances. As I collaborated to create and maintain the space, I documented my experience through the people and things surrounding me. I am currently reviewing photographs and reaching out to friends to collaborate on a book telling as complete a story as we can muster. At this time I am having trouble putting my experience into words beyond this. So for now, a few photos will have to serve as my voice. More coming soon...
While living in Western New York I began to learn about whole foods from various sources including the farms from which they came. I developed a very close relationship with Jerry of Sunny Cove Farm, a local organic and raw dairy farm. Sometimes we would talk for hours about the precarious legality of the harmless and healthy product coming from his farm. I did a lot of promotion and product design for Sunny Cove Farm, but the one thing I couldn’t do much of was serve the raw milk. Due to state and federal law, in New York the sale of raw milk must be conducted on farm only. Furthermore, the milk could not travel across state lines or be used to create any product for consumption outside the home. In a brazen disregard for the laws, I began to prepare and share my homemade ice creams made using raw milk. Each event would occur with the knowledge that the product being served was illegal and therefore may be “unsafe” for consumption. Each iteration of this project was met with happy faces, delighted bellies and a rich discourse on food security and freedom. *No individuals were made sick by serving this illegal substance*
Featuring the Traditional Artwork of Artist Michael Bernard Stevenson Jr. aka the Urban Shaman
Wood, Screws, Plastic, Thread
2015
Wood, Screws, Plastic, Thread
2015
Wood, Screws, Plastic, Thread
2015
Plastic, Screws, Cardboard
2015
Lichens, Plastic, Wood, Paper, Screws, Cardboard
2015
Bone, Plastic, Ink, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
2015
Paper, Wood, Ink, Wood, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
2015
Burlap, Fungus, Lichen, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
2015
Found, Framing, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
2015
My studio practice achieves a 0% waste environment. I use incoming found materials and craft them into my artwork. Even the table surface is salvage, perched atop reclaimed bucket legs. The fragments of the materials used I also collect and use in some other way. After every work of art I create I have more materials than when I started.
Skeleton, Shellac, Paper, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
2015
Found Aluminum Cans, Ink, Paper, Cardboard, Screws, Framing, Thread
2016
Feminine Product Wrapper, Sticks, Plastic, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
2014
Pokemon Card, Paper, Ink, wood, Plastic, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
2015
Wood, Plastic, Ink, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
2015
Performance Enhancement Supplement Packaging, Seedling Tags, Ink, Stickers, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
2015
Ink, Wood, Wire, Sticker, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
2015
Plastic, Electronic Wire, Framing, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
2015
Found, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
2015
Broken Tape Player, Aluminum, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
2015
Sticks, Paper, Charcoal, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
2015
Plastic, Wood, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
2015
Found, Screws, Thread
2015
Found, Screws, Thread
2015
Plastic, Wood, Metal, Seeds, Flower, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
2015
Flier, Paper, Plastic, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
Found, Ethernet Cable, Screws, Coardboard, Thread
2015
Found Materials Belonging to, or Found Around My Grandfather, Shellac, Framing, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
2015
Found Materials Belonging to, or Found Around My Grandfather, Shellac, Framing, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
2015
Bird, Shellac, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
2015
Bird, Shellac, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
2015
Snake, Shellac, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
2015
Squirrel, Shellac, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
2015
Squirrel, Shellac, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
2015
Exoskeleton, Shellac, Cardboard, Screws
2015
Exoskeleton, Shellac, Cardboard, Screws
2015
Exoskeleton, Shellac, Cardboard, Screws
2015
Exoskeleton, Shellac, Cardboard, Screws
2015
Feathers, Bone, Found, Plastic, Wood, Shellac
2016
Plastic, Framing, Screw, Cardboard
2015
Portrait of Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan
Found, Screws
2015
Portrait of Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan
Found, Screws
2015
Portrait of Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan
Found, Screws
2015
Framing, Screws, Cardboard
Found, Tape, Framing, Screws, Cardboard
Various Canvass Using Material Found Onsite Representing Days Spent as a Service Volunteer
2015
Days of Service
Found, Framing Screws, Cardboard
2015
2015
Days of Service
2015
Days of Service
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
Days of Service
2015
Days of Service
2015
Days of Service
2015
Days of Service
2015
Days of Service
2015
Days of Service
2015
Days of Service
2015
Days of Service
2015
Days of Service
2015
Broken Transit Implements, Recepts, Framing, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
2015
Broken Transit Implements, Recepts, Framing, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
2015
Broken Transit Implements, Recepts, Framing, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
2015
Broken Transit Implements, Recepts, Framing, Screws, Cardboard, Thread
2015
Found, Screws, Paper, Handmade Rope, Thread
2015
Found, Screws, Paper, Handmade Rope, Thread
2015
Found, Screws, Paper, Handmade Rope, Thread
2015
Found, Screws, Paper, Handmade Rope, Thread
2015
Screw, Cardboard, Thread
2015
Table Waste, Shellac, Screws, Cardboard
2015
Floor Waste, Screws, Cardboard
2015
Studio Waste, Leaf, Shellac, Screws, Cardboard
2015
All throughout college and beyond, I modeled for figure drawing classes. I began to explore a method of modeling that involved dynamic movement during each pose. Through this process I came to meet Dang, an accomplished illustrator from China. During a meeting between Dang, myself, and Dang’s wife Lillian as a translator, I described my plan to do a performance in Manhattan where I fought the bull on Wall St. After an exchange with Dang in Chinese Lillian simply said, “When you do this, Dang will be there.” I coordinated with Dang and Lillian to meet in Manhattan to illustrate the debut of the Urban Shaman. The experience was rich for myself, Dang, his family, and hundreds of passersby. Dang produced four drawings telling the story depicting the Shaman’s Journey for the American Dream.
