BORN TO CREATE BEAUTY WITH CLAY

Sometimes, I feel so lucky to live life and do the work I do.

I live in Ohio with my beautiful wife Jen and two awesome kids Ruby and Indigo. Jen is a public school art teacher, so we have a steady income and health insurance. We can afford our food, housing, and healthcare, and I am grateful for what we have. 

As a working artist, I get to stay connected with what is important to me, I meet lots of people and get to work on very cool projects. I teach clay classes and for years I managed the amazing studio space at the Columbus Cultural Arts Center, downtown near the river. I get to make my own schedule and can take time to go for a walk in the middle of the day if I want to. 

I know that all of this ‘luck’ has come from a lot of hard work. In 2007 I graduated from The Ohio State University with a BFA in Ceramics and have never given up on my goal to work as an artist. Over the years, I had to take a few part-time jobs to keep up with the bills but always forced myself to do a little bit of work in the studio. I had the fortune to be accepted into two fellowships that really helped shape me as a professional artist. I have been part of many community organizations, volunteered on boards, organized events, all that good stuff. For a good many years after graduating from college I was totally stressed out, overworked, and loving (almost) every minute of it. 

I have been able to do some really awesome work and in the last couple of years, I was able to take on some big scale public artworks. They have proven to be quite humbling as the scale of the work is so much bigger than mine as an artist. From the very beginning of the project, before an artist is even chosen, you can be sure a team of people has been working to select the locations, decide on concepts, and start dreaming. For the projects I have been awarded, the process starts with a back and forth with a committee over the final design, installation materials, timeline, budget. When production finally starts I have had a dedicated artist assistant and help from other artists to complete the work. Install then has its own team of people. Finally, the artwork if handed over to the public, which is a force all of its own. It has been a great experience for me and I find it very fulfilling. It is an honor to change a location with a well thought out, site-specific artwork, that has the intention of enhancing it for the people that may happen by. 

In 2018, I opened my dream company, The Kiln Room Columbus. It’s a large facility where I do ceramic production and have studio access for professional ceramicists. 2020 has been a challenging year but we are still open safely, following all CDC guidelines. You can find out more at The Kiln Room Columbus website.

Thank you for taking the time to check out my artwork, I hope it has brightened your day a little.