Diversions & Curious Enthusiasms

In the same sense that college credit can be acquired from reports on "life experiences", so do various life interests and diversions affect and inspire one's profession.

Photography

Recording light and shadow has always been my art form of choice to dabble in. I have been shooting a wide variety of subjects for over 20 years, beginning with black & white and color studies at junior college – both in and out of the studio – and on to shooting most anything ever since. While I loved the darkroom, digital photography has enabled much more shooting and ease of production.

Recently, I've found more inspiration in shooting thematic portraiture and event photography, rather than travel photos and the more abstract concerns from the past.

See more select shots from two decades of work in my Flickr photostream

Industrial Arts

Always one to work with my hands (especially to get out from behind a desk since I entered the computer design world), I've recently co-created a building collective known as Krank-Boom-Clank to build "kinetic conveyances of whimsy" and other mutant ride-able sculptures of delight.

The newly completed "Hennepin Crawler" is comprised largely of discarded lawn furniture, VW Bug and antique Cadillac parts, old wooden furniture bits, industrial culvert pipe and aviation wire, plus old bikes among other bits too numerous to mention. It is capable of both street and railroad track cruising.

The Crawler represents a desire to meld alternative transportation innovation, human-powered kinetic sculpture, recycling of disparate pieces of functional garbage, and the prankster's notion of absurdity, bewilderment, and beauty on an unsuspecting public.

• View the Gallery of construction and racing shots of the Hennepin Crawler
• See my and other's photos on Flickr

Local Arts Tracking & Artist Profiles

Though displeased with what seems like a languishing contemporary folk art scene in my county, I have found that there are many active local underground artists of note. In hopes of livening the situation, I've been publicly tracking the gallery shows and other activities of these oddball creative folks via Sonoma ArtCast on Tribe.net.

This has led to deeper interests: artists' studio documentation, gallery event photography, and now, short video profiles of artists in their studios and at exhibitions.

• View the "In Studio" Series artists' profiles short videos

Burning Man Projects

Though many may view Burning Man as little more than a crazed debauch (it is that too, of course!), there is much to be said for the amount of intense work and resourcefulness in attending and creating during a week-long event in a distant and often inhospitable desert.

Beyond simply arranging for the many needs to survive, doing so in a stylish wardrobe, and with a jovial attitude, while simultaneously creating large-scale artwork, is a severe and heady experiment.

The result is often a joyous melding of extremely disciplined work, physical and mental flexibility, and resourcefulness, while coordinating and collaborating with a dedicated community of highly creative and visionary folks. The toil is tough, but the rewards are rich — both as a person who builds lasting friendships, and as a professional who can complete complex jobs in demanding situations.

Two recent major projects completed for the event include:

• Hennepin Crawler, 2008
  Ride-able kinetic sculpture for four riders on four very big wheels: See above Industrial Arts for description.
• Ice-Flø, 2007
  "Art car": a thirty-two foot long, two story tall faux iceberg to transport Playa denizens within a comfy pillowed lounge, DJ booth and mini dance floor that converts to a live music stage, and all lit in the soft marine hues of a hapless chunk of melting ice, adrift across the open desert floor.

  Built by myself and a small crew of dedicated, detail-crazed people over a 7 month period. The process included coordinating an extravagant fundraiser party with over 300 attendees, showcasing varied visual arts, live performers, and musicians, in a sizable arctic-decorated venue in Sebastopol, CA.