I’m honored to have been invited by Gramercy Books in Bexley, OH to participate in their Local Author Festival this coming Saturday, August 12, from 4-6. I hope you’ll consider coming out and saying hello. I’ll have books on hand to sell and to sign, as well as the rest of the stores amazing collection and Kittie’s delicious coffee and pastry.
I hope that I never get to a point in my writing and photography life where I no longer get excited to have my book show up on an indie bookseller’s shelf. This photo comes from my friend (and fellow writer) Michael J. Seidlinger who was visiting Powell’s in Portland, OR when he took this photo.
While I’m at it, I want to mention how lucky we are here in Columbus, OH that publisher (and friends) Two Dollar Radio will be opening their headquarters / bookshop + bar here in Old Town East. For ongoing information on that, check out: https://twodollarradio.com/
Finally, while I want you to pick up my work wherever or however you are able (including the links on this website), but if you’re fortunate enough to have a local bookseller you can support please buy it there, or ask them to order it up if they don’t have it in stock. If you’re in Ohio, a few places you can find copies include:
The editors over at The Fanzine saw fit to publish a recent essay of mine and I wanted to share that with you. I’m really grateful for them seeing my piece as one to share. I’m amongst some literary giants out there, so after you read my piece, check out the rest of the work – it’s worth your time.
My new bride and I had two transfers before our final flight to Copenhagen. We caught a small twin prop plane from Columbus to Toronto, then transferred to a 747 headed for Frankfort, before a short jaunt over the mainland and sea into Copenhagen. Even with several connections breaking the flight into smaller segments, it was the seven-hour Toronto to Frankfort flight that concerned us the most.
Preceding the trip, a number of bizarre incidents involving commercial air travel had left hundreds dead. There were the two lost flights under command of Malaysian Airlines, one over the Indian Ocean that took over a year to determine even where it had been lost, much less determining any cause.CLICK THROUGH TO READ FULL ESSAY
It’s been a long time since my last video. This one was originally recorded via cell-phone by my mother-in-law Holly, of me talking art, writing, and unionism at the Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery. I was thankful to have my piece selected as part of the juried After Hours show.
Below is the list of Q&A presented prior to the exhibit tour, and how I responded, as a supplement to this video.
What is your artist statement:
Expressing myself visually is the best way to prepare my mind for my other art – writing creative non-fiction. I’ve developed a deep love for photography as a way of capturing the shapes of life that inspire my words. With both words and pictures, I bridge time and space; fragments of the world captured from my own perspective. Both media allow me to explore the limits of truth through the context I’m willing - or able – to provide. I can stare directly into the parallels and paradoxes of my images, across locations and lunar cycles, mixing my memories in an attempt to create a cohesive narrative about who I am and what the world looks like through my eyes.
What was the project’s backstory:
This piece is the first in a larger collection, five total, that document the winding of one image with another – the process of circumvolution. For me this set of three show the natural degradation of rigidity.
What is your artistic process:
In both writing and photography digital technology allows for virtually unlimited resources; meaning that the infinite monkey theorem is infinitely more realistic today than in the day of typewriters. I go back and forth between film and digital as a way of reminding myself how important intention is when taking photos. If I capture something worth sharing, in words or photos, I want to know I can retrace my steps instead of knowing it was all just dumb luck.
How long have you been making art:
As long as I’ve been alive. I can’t remember a time I wasn’t creating something that, at worst, might generously have been called art.
How do you find time to make artwork while working a full-time job:
Thanks to the unions I’ve got 8-hours of rest, 8-hours of work, and 8-hours of leisure – at least conceptually. Creativity itself is the obsession, and that can happen anytime during the day, then it is just a matter of execution. If your obsession is strong enough then you use your time creating instead of consuming – be that TV or shopping or eating or whatever. Inspiration is a powerful motivator.
