Good question. Over the years, I've developed into quite the shapeshifting creative. I started out as an illustrator at a very young age, taking drawing classes taught by a relative at a local mall in late-1980's New Jersey. By the late 1990's, I taught myself how to cut hair, and became the barber of choice for all my high school friends and family. I also played live music in a high school garage band named Lumpy Oatmeal, and within five years, I received an associate of science in recording arts from Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL.
I worked as a sound engineer in recording studios in Philadelphia and Staten Island, NY in my early 20's, before moving on to music retail sales in South Jersey, and finally in Portland, OR. During this period, I became the face of a music retail giant on their national advertising campaign which promoted their Music Mentor series, a free instructional program offered in all their store locations, entitled Recording Made Easy. For almost three years on Saturday mornings, I taught these classes to a wide diversity of students ranging from those as young as ten years old to others over seventy. It was a rewarding experience and I made some great connections while sharing my knowledge and passion for home studio recording.
Although I never lost my desire and periodic practice of creating visual art, a freak accident in my early 30's ignited my pursuit of a professional career in graphic design. I began studying at Portland Community College in 2016, transferred to Portland State University in 2018, and completed my bachelors of science in graphic design in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and George Floyd protests. I still enjoy making music in my spare time, and am always pushing the limits of my knowledge and ability in an attempt to learn new skills that will help elevate my graphic design vision and contribute to making the world a more interesting place.