The pandemic did for most of us what had been needing to be done for quite some time. It shuffled our lives by shaking the snow globes that imprisoned us. It brought to light the hidden sides of the people around us as if we were being unmasked while in the process of masking up. We learned who could truly be trusted while learning what about ourselves couldn’t be trusted. It taught hard lessons on sacrifice, priorities, worth, and appreciation. At least that is what it did for me.
This post isn’t about the pandemic nor is it a deep philosophical statement about how you should live your lives or reflect… I’m pretty sure there are enough articles and blog posts out there about that. But I did need to give context to the changes in my life and my career because those changes will affect the art and design work that you see on this site.
At the end of the Spring 2020 semester I received the news that I had managed to jump through the academic hoop of tenure. Normally this would’ve afforded me the opportunity to take bigger risks and further explore in creative research and service. However, the pandemic, poor leadership, and the lessons those things brought would put all of that on hold. Until now.
After some reshuffling and reevaluations of my priorities I’ve decided to focus much more on my creative explorations and professional practice. I don’t plan to completely abandon my pedagogical research but in all honesty I have lost considerable interest in pursuing it further. I imagine this is likely to change in the future but for now this is where I am on it. As such, I have quite a few projects underway. Currently I have begun work on pieces for my series: Rise, Lost, and Highs, Lows and Everthing In Between. I’ve also started some exciting research and experimentation integrating my work into ceramics.
My work in the area of service has become extremely problematic of late and is contributing to what is best described as a toxic environment. Because of this I’ve pulled back drastically on the amount of “University Service” until that problem has been resolved. Given the requirements of academia I can’t relinquish all service obligations but with the luxury of tenure I can better choose what obligations I’m involved in. This has helped to create a significant amount of time to devote to my personal life, my hobbies (like bookbinding) and to my professional practice. This time has allowed for considerable amount of freelance work, working both directly with clients and other agencies.
So in the coming weeks, months, and year be on the lookout for more posts about new work!
