Me
Growing up, I was part of a military family, so we moved frequently, living in different parts of the United States and even Europe for a bit. I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania and then went on to complete my Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Pennsylvania with a focus on Printmaking.
I taught Printmaking at the University of Pennsylvania from 1994 to 1999 and then became the Director of Visual Arts at Interlochen Center for the Arts from 2000 to 2006. I am an Associate Professor of Printmaking and 2-D Foundations at the Bloomsburg campus of the Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania.
Apart from teaching, I also own Studio Paper+, a printmaking studio located in the Pajama Factory in Williamsport, PA. Additionally, I maintain the Roost, my drawing and painting studio, on my family's horse farm in Montoursville, PA.
Statement
Melancholy Meanderings
In 2024, I experienced two transformative moments that profoundly impacted my journey as an image maker. The first occurred when I was invited to visit my mentor Hitoshi Nakazato's New York studio. There, I had the opportunity go through his voluminous flat files of prints and discuss his approach to printmaking with his son, wife, and a curator from Osaka. Even though Hitoshi passed away over a decade ago, his presence felt palpable, and I found myself learning from him all over again. His prints, large and commanding, left an indelible mark on me, particularly one collagraph that struck me deeply and revealed how far I had strayed from his teachings.
The second moment of revelation came from Juliette Aristides' Lessons in Classical Painting. On page 19, I encountered a small image of a woodcut by Yoshida Hiroshi, which led me to research his work and eventually order The Complete Woodblock Prints of Yoshida Hiroshi. I was astounded by his masterful gradations and the transparency of color in his atmospheric landscape prints—qualities I had only begun to explore.
Pennsylvania can be graced with picture-perfect days, but I find myself increasingly drawn to the beauty in its gloomier moments. The aesthetic of the rust-belt brain drain in the small coal towns resonates with melancholy. Words often escape me when trying to explain this essence, so I make marks to express what I see and use colors to show how I feel. Though my works may not possess the power of Hitoshi's prints or the atmospheric subtlety of Hiroshi's woodcuts, they serve as quiet reflections on the region I call home.
Growing up, I was part of a military family, so we moved frequently, living in different parts of the United States and even Europe for a bit. I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania and then went on to complete my Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Pennsylvania with a focus on Printmaking.
I taught Printmaking at the University of Pennsylvania from 1994 to 1999 and then became the Director of Visual Arts at Interlochen Center for the Arts from 2000 to 2006. I am an Associate Professor of Printmaking and 2-D Foundations at the Bloomsburg campus of the Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania.
Apart from teaching, I also own Studio Paper+, a printmaking studio located in the Pajama Factory in Williamsport, PA. Additionally, I maintain the Roost, my drawing and painting studio, on my family's horse farm in Montoursville, PA.
Statement
Melancholy Meanderings
In 2024, I experienced two transformative moments that profoundly impacted my journey as an image maker. The first occurred when I was invited to visit my mentor Hitoshi Nakazato's New York studio. There, I had the opportunity go through his voluminous flat files of prints and discuss his approach to printmaking with his son, wife, and a curator from Osaka. Even though Hitoshi passed away over a decade ago, his presence felt palpable, and I found myself learning from him all over again. His prints, large and commanding, left an indelible mark on me, particularly one collagraph that struck me deeply and revealed how far I had strayed from his teachings.
The second moment of revelation came from Juliette Aristides' Lessons in Classical Painting. On page 19, I encountered a small image of a woodcut by Yoshida Hiroshi, which led me to research his work and eventually order The Complete Woodblock Prints of Yoshida Hiroshi. I was astounded by his masterful gradations and the transparency of color in his atmospheric landscape prints—qualities I had only begun to explore.
Pennsylvania can be graced with picture-perfect days, but I find myself increasingly drawn to the beauty in its gloomier moments. The aesthetic of the rust-belt brain drain in the small coal towns resonates with melancholy. Words often escape me when trying to explain this essence, so I make marks to express what I see and use colors to show how I feel. Though my works may not possess the power of Hitoshi's prints or the atmospheric subtlety of Hiroshi's woodcuts, they serve as quiet reflections on the region I call home.