My newest work is a visual representation of my transitory process for finding peace of mind in a world so stimulating and frustrating, that it is often hard to do so.  We all take on multiple responsibilities in life which have the potential to build up as problems and tower over us like monsters if we choose to neglect them for long enough. Schoolwork, family pressures, the standards we hold for ourselves, and our plans for the future are some of those responsibilities which have the potential to cause the greatest the amounts of stress in life. When all these things seem to encroach upon any person at once, the only thing to do is to try and seek out the calm in the storm, that peace of mind.

It’s taken my entire life to figure out what brings me that peace, and it didn’t happen without much trial and error. Drugs, alcohol, gluttony, and excessive spending can all seem like valid solutions when the world seems to be closing in on you. In my life, they were all given their fair shot, and all of them proved to bring relief, but it was never long lasting. They often came with other veiled long term problems. What did work as a long term solution was diving into nature headfirst.

Isolation and immersion within an unknown natural environment presents for humans, a situation where we are able to unload our burdens and connect with the primal self. It allows us to appreciate the animal aspect of being human, devoid of sentience and of the pressures, fears and stimulation of civilization. There, in that state, we are able to see ourselves for what and who we are at the basest form.  We see both the beauty in our own, sometimes dismal feeling, existence and the irrelevance of our perceived burdens in the grand scheme of things.  Eventually this permits a return to our various responsibilities with a cleared head, ready and willing to take them on.

I didn’t reach where I am today without my fair share of footfalls. Every bad decision I’ve ever made along with every good one factor into who I’ve become. For that reason, I choose to use pen and ink as my primary medium. Every mark is permanent. If I mess up I have to live with it and try to make it work in my pieces. This is never very hard to do though, because I’ve finally found what brings me true peace of mind in nature, which I incorporate into my work through use of wooden panels as a drawing surface. This juxtaposition of ink on wood therefore becomes an even more complex metaphor for the peace we must all find within ourselves. It starts with accepting who we are, acknowledging that we are merely transient life forms, and that the only person who can bear our load is ourselves.