INTERVIEW
Conducted by Alissa Walker
What books and movies lured you in to their "fantastical worlds" as a child?
Alice in Wonderland, Legend, The Last Unicorn, Dark Crystal, Labyrinth,
Fantastic Planet, Beetlejuice, Edward Scisscorhands,
When did you discover that you could turn your love for those worlds into a career?
By watching other artists create their own world and knowing that I could
too. It probably started with making collages with old magazines my
mother and sister had out and making little sceneries and escapes.
Can you tell me about VITAL, your project with Tiffa Novoa?
It was a premiere production to introduce ourselves to Los Angeles.
Tiffa Novoa being home based in Oregon, and myself in San Francisco Bay
Area, no one had really known of us except for the Burningman society.
Throughout that previous year, Tiffa and I had engaged ourselves in
multiple projects. Her being the visionary to create the unknown
characters and myself bringing them into their environment through the
different photoshoots. We hadn't shown anyone really the whole story put
together, and that's where VITAL came in. A lush sensory overload
necessary for the continuation of life collaborating with performers,
sound designers, visual artists and musicians. It was AMAZING!!
Who are you working and collaborating with now?
Right now there is a tremendous amount of energy from different groups coming together, to envision collaborations on a larger scale. Expect to see more circus influenced multimedia events, a surge in
side-show meets fairy tale themes in Los Angeles and surrounding cities.
I'm inspired to work with Darrah Danielle an incredible collage artist, Brian
Ulrich who is an electronic music producer, and Hans Haveron who is an
airbrush artist amongst other multiple talents. We are co-creating a show
for a Burningman Fundraiser. A sort of gallery to show our works.
You mention that your work reflects your personality and is "almost
always cosmic." How do you find the subjects to compliment your vision?
I feel like I capture a piece of their spirit that I am drawn to. Almost
angelic. Very mysterious. Capturing a piece of their soul. It's hard
to photograph someone in their truest form. For instance, I hate having my picture taken. I feel like the person behind the camera has to be
able to capture my truest essence...and sometimes it just doesn't come
out. It's hard for someone to know exactly when to push the shutter.
The look you are trying to capture can happen almost immediately and
disappear within a moments notice.
Isn't that contradictory? How can you hate having your picture taken when you make your living taking others' pictures?
Yeah, I guess it is contradictory, but some people just don't know when to
push the button...you know? I don't like to be misrepresented. I have
multiple sides that I think people that really know me would be
able to capture. Other pictures that I've had taken, I just feel to posed,
not real at all.
I see you moving seamlessly through the fine art and commercial worlds. Are they sometimes conflicting?
Sometimes my work may work in a commercial situation, but not at an art
show, people feel like it's too commercial. I feel like my work
expresses emotion and a sense of timelessness that only I can capture.
It's hard because I want to be known as an artist but I'm having
difficulty self sustaining, so therefore I have to turn to the
commercial/advertising world to support myself. It would be nice to see
a billboard on the side of a highway that consisted of both these worlds
combined. Some sort of eye candy while you're driving in traffic to take
your mind off of all the stress.
What's a recent example of good commercial eye candy you've produced?
I just worked on a fashion shoot with Jennifer Ayers and the pictures looked
amazing. Like something out of Cleopatra or Ben Hur, it would be a great
movie poster.
5) Who is your dream muse?
Wow, my dream muse....that's a tough one to answer as I find my muse in
everyone and everything.
