I was asked to show my work this Friday night at the Livingston Art Walk. My pieces will be at 121 S. Main St so come on by if you're in the area... and tell your friends!

I will be presenting never-before-seen-in-public work, "Exposure & Vulnerability" and "Truth & Perception" amongst others.

This show will feature a handful of artists from within CTA Architects Engineers. Come see what happens when technical designers embrace art as a tool for expression.

I had a client for my day job who asked if I could design a replica schoolhouse that would look like its 100 years old to house a sculpture by an amazing artist (who needs to remain anonymousl for the time being). I said yes.

I collaborated with a friend in our office who is also a contractor, Max Anthon with JXM Design & Associates, and this is where we ended up. He has two more weeks to go but is doing an AWESOME job.

Can't wait to see this space filled with a sculpture made from woven willows. It will be beautiful. Oh, and I was interviewed on site today for a documentary they are filming of the process. The owner's rep really likes my art and asked me to talk about how the concepts I explore with my pieces helped in designing this project. So that was amazing. This schoolhouse is for the Tippet Rise Art Center located near Fishtail, MT.

Just found out I had two of my pieces juried into the WaterWorks Art Gallery Art Across Montana show in Miles City, Montana! This was my first time entering a juried show so I couldn't be more excited for the results.

For those who may not know, for juried shows an outside juror is selected to review all submitted work and to pick the best work that will be on display for the length of the show. This show will have "Best of" awards announced at the opening reception on June 27th. A truly exciting honor. Now on to the next one...

What happens at the intersection of Truth and Perception? Where our constants are questioned and our ideals lose grounding? It can be uncomfortable and thrilling if we are open to the answer.

I wrapped this one up last night. Not sure if I want to add any subtle accents yet so I'll let it hang for a day or two to feel it out.

I'm really happy with the colors, especially the patina on the copper. This had quite a few experimental elements and was a rewarding experience.

The Long Kiss. Final processed photos.

This piece was made as a 14 year anniversary gift to Melinda. 7 white roses, 7 red roses, and a kiss to last a lifetime.

I've made a number of pieces using crushed up dried flowers, but this is my first with whole dried flowers. A piece like this would make a great anniversary or wedding gift for any fine art lover.

I am having fun experimenting with this next piece. The teaser version is that its about 'value'... ya know, because that's what I do.

I love the look and texture of the brown jute against the smooth blaze orange. I'm thinking the orange will have a layer of clear wax which should ghost it out a bit. The copper in the photo was left over from my last piece. I'm working on my patina process to get the blue brighter, which will be a nice strong contrast to the orange and jute. And of course there will be wax and ash.

These are the copper tubes in a salt and vinegar mix. They soaked for a bit, then I pulled them out, dribbled more vinegar on them, and sprinkled them with salt. If you repeat every few hours turning as needed, you get this...

I'm loving this look! Once I'm satisfied with the depth of the patina I'll give it a light rinse and seal it with lacquer. I'll cut it into smaller pieces then add it to my work.

Well this just got easy! I was going to write a quick blog about the Montana Artreprenuer Program, then I found this site.

It does such a great job giving a brief description of the program I figured why reinvent the wheel?

Instead I'll give a couple reasons why I'm completely excited about this program:

1. The opportunity to learn about running a successful art business by people who are doing it... Enter Meagan and Michael Blessing. Please check out this couple and their work. What they are doing for the Montana art industry is phenomenal.

2. It will give the galleries and collectors that I develop relationships with the confidence in knowing I take my art seriously and that I will be a responsible partner in furthering my craft.

3. Advocacy! As an emerging artist I can build relationships with established artists who may help me in my networking. My hope is to be able to offer the same to the next crop of emerging Montana artists...

Can you tell I'm excited about this? It should be easy to see why! Much thanks to the MAP Director Sheri Jarvis for taking so much time these last few weeks to bring me into the fold. Here's to a very exciting future indeed!

Last month I applied for a spot to exhibit my artwork in the Zoot Art Gallery, the biggest gallery in Bozeman. Today I had a phone call from their director telling me I had been selected to show! My exhibition will be March through June 2016, which gives me plenty of time to prepare. It will be a joint show with another local artist. I'm excited for the joint show, it will be a GREAT opportunity to expand my network.

The director said there were 20 applicants and 4 shows to fill and I was a top applicant. She ended the conversation by saying my work was really good and she was excited to see it in person.

Overall this was good validation from within our local art community. It was my first application for exhibition and it took quite a bit of effort. Obviously I couldn't be happier with the results. Very exciting.

It's finished! I turn my piece in for the Museum of the Rockies annual fund raiser tomorrow. And I'm excited about how it turned out and how much exposure will come from this.

Project details:

Title: "Coming To Terms With Myself"

Created: 01/2015

Medium: Ash, wax, plaster, charcoal, acrylic, copper, and wood.

Dimensions: 36" x 12" x 3".

This piece is about how we see ourselves and how we are seen by others. This is my first piece incorporating copper. Copper is symbolic because it is a metal that does not loose value regardless of how new or old it appears. The copper wires contained within the ash and wax represent our subconscious or internal value; who we are at our core. It may not be perfect, but it is pure.   The copper pipe within the plaster is symbolic of how we project ourselves to others. The circular forms of the tubes are more refined yet the finish is tainted. This represents our misconceived notions that who we project ourselves to be is of more value than who we truly are. Sometimes we are fortunate enough to be aware of our ego playing this game on our id and can "see" our situation from outside ourselves. This piece is created at that moment.