A Late Beginning​

Prior to establishing a career in advertising, my studio work focused primarily on photography, printmaking and graphic design. Upon completing my undergraduate studies, I participated in my first gallery show, exhibiting forty-two photographs and photographic silkscreen prints. The exhibit would come to be the only showing of my artwork until 2022. During the intervening years I continued to pursue photographic and graphic design projects, however, my career limited a desire to exhibit my work publicly. Spending the majority of my advertising agency work on the account management side of the business, I quickly discovered that navigating client critiques of our agency's creative work provided sufficient distractions without subjecting my personal work to a similar fate of public opinion. So, I waited.​

 

The Journey

During college, I took an eight-month independent study journey to Australia. As a result of the trip and camera equipment suggested by my yet-to-be photography professor, my life was forever changed in wonderful ways. When I departed for Australia, I did so with a suitcase and a 35mm film camera. I knew no-one in the country, had no idea where I would settle, no job, $250.00 in my pocket, and no idea of how to use my new camera. Then two incredible events took place. I  settled in Melbourne, and within three weeks I landed a job with one of Australia's largest advertising agencies. Due to the work that I had already produced through my studio studies, I was hired for a three-month stint as an assistant art director. I watched as photographs commanded the focus of all print media. For those three months, I was exposed to the incredible story-telling and communications prowess of photography, illustration and graphic design. ​My camera became my closest companion at the agency and during my five months of travel. The focal limitations of my camera's 50mm lens compelled me to embrace close-proximity shooting that left little room for physical or emotional distancing. Every shot became an intimate "conversation" with the subject ... animate or not. It was from these experiences that I began to develop a foundation for how I approach photography, graphic design and printmaking today: Strive to create a visual vocabulary that touches viewers in ways unachievable by words.​​​