Here is an interview from a little while back that I never did get around to posting on my blog – so what the heck – better late than never! This was an Interview for Plateau Magazine – and was part of an online article that features different underground/up-and-coming artists periodically. Unfortunately I have not been able to access their site recently, and am afraid (although not 100% sure) that perhaps they are no longer around – another reason I felt the urge to post this interview. Hope you enjoy!

Organic Chemistry: Artist Statement

“I am constantly amazed by this world that we are all a part of – and I draw inspiration everywhere from the vast depths of space to the tiniest molecules on earth.

There is an infinite source of beauty and perfection all around us when we take the time to stop and look – children seem to naturally recognize this euphoric beauty of the world around them as everything is fresh and new, and their brains haven’t yet started to get cluttered with everyday worries and mundane rituals. In a world that is dominated by the human mind, it seems we are often too busy – moving to quickly, to care about the fact that we are burning up resources faster than they can replenish. Being aware of our consciousness is an amazing gift – but it is how we use it that will decide the state of the world we live in.

I believe there is a lot to learn on how to live more sustainably and in sync with our surroundings by observing the ebb and flow of the living, natural world. Every plant, animal, cloud, and organism lives in a kind of harmony, and is part of deeper consciousness that is radiantly seamless. This kind of balance and synthesis plays a key role within the inspiration of my work.

Organic Chemistry echos a more universal synthesis between Science and Philosophy/Spirituality – I believe we need a balance between these things to better understand the world. The idea of chaos and order is also present while I am painting, and that underneath what often seems to be this complex jumble of everything, there is in fact a grand design – like an eternal rhythm, or dance.

I am often inspired by fractal patterns in nature, or the nautilus shell which I use as a metaphor to depict this absolute (and scientific) beauty. My favorite image to illustrate this comes from the idea of the big bang theory – I think it is amazing to think about how at one time, everything that makes up the billions of life forms on this planet was all part of this one tiny seed of exploding cosmic energy, and that the only real separation we experience is due to the distance between our ever expanding energy in time and space. To me, this seems equally spiritual or magical as it does scientific. It is this kind of “magic” and scientific beauty, that I wish to portray through the body of work in Organic Chemistry – simultaneously hoping to create visual spaces that allow the viewer to return to that place of childhood euphoria.”