influences

"One day at a time. It sounds so simple. It actually is simple but it isn't easy: It requires incredible support and fastidious structuring." - Russel Brand 

 

A lovely Tucson Ansel Adams' sky

I don't think that there is an artist alive (or passed) who is worth their salt who says that they truly work alone. I may do things by myself in my studio, but I definitely don't make work in a vacuum nor would I be really capable of it if I did. When I first started making work, it was my connection to literature that pulled me in.  Dorothy Allison (http://www.dorothyallison.net/) was a connection to the southern gothic that included the queer in a way that still is unsurpassed in my humble opinion. Bastard Out of Carolina, Trash, and Skin implanted this notion in my mind: that one can create in order to live.  This idea holds that it's possible to create in order to recreate myself through and away from pain, from oppression, from my own self-loathing and limitations.  To create toward the new, the possible, the authentic, and the present - to the awake.

Allison's work is a leap of faith.  I feel that's the beautiful thing about anything artistic. It's always a leap of faith. Not to harp on fear again, but there in lies part of my problem I think. I'm terrified of the initial leap.  Doesn't help to be afraid of heights I guess.  When I decided to make moves toward expressing my gender as it actually is, I felt I was about to fly off of the highest cliff, complete with jagged rocks below and no water to even wash away my crumpled form after the fall.  But it was a step.  That was all. But one that required faith, art, and help. 

I'm lucky to have friends and colleagues who are doing amazing things and who inspire me even when I'm in fear and can't seem to make or do myself. I wanted to take a few minutes this morning to share some links with you so that you can explore the work of these amazing folks yourself. Okay, more like a bunch of links. And I'm lucky. There are more folks that I could list than I have ways for me to connect you to them.

The first person is the person who encouraged me to apply to grad school and who taught me how to use a camera. She also told me that what I had to say as a trans* person was valuable and worth saying, and that it was okay to say it to an audience. Thank you, Cindy. You know I wouldn't be where I am today without you.
http://cindywallace.com/

This first list is all cool and amazing people whom I had the privilege of learning along side in grad school.  Their input into my work and process was enormous and watching their work grow and develop was one of the things that really made grad school worth it.

Tomiko Jones
http://www.tomikojonesphoto.com/
photographer and video artist

Laura Milkins
http://www.prx.org/pieces/61606-walking-home-an-interview-with-laura-milkins
painter, performance artist, walker of artistic life
This is one interview of many with Laura as she walked from Tucson to her home town in Michigan. She's all over the place on the web.

SJ Gibson
http://stuartjgibson.us/home.html
new genre artist and photographer

Gazelle Samizay
http://www.gazellesamizay.com/
photographer and video artist

Justin Campoy
http://www.justincampoy.com/
painter

Chris Dacre
http://www.chrisdacre.com/
print maker and installation artist

This clearly isn't everyone from grad school, but these are folks I consider friends and also whose work I follow even if we are scattered all over the country now.


Then there are people that I had the opportunity from whom to learn (and still do):

Erin V. Sotak
http://www.erinvsotak.com/ErinVSotak/erin_v._sotak.html
photographer, installation artist, performance artist

Ann Simmons-Myers
http://www.annsimmons-myers.com/
photographer

Frank Golkhe
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/q-and-a-frank-gohlke-44232755/?no-ist
This is an interview about his show at the Smithsonian. He is also all over the web.

Harold Jones
 www.haroldhjones.com/
 photographer

Chuck Hitner
http://local-artists.org/users/chuck-hitner
painter and the king of "make it ugly"

Harmony Hammond
http://www.harmonyhammond.com/
painter

Sama Alshaibi
http://www.samaalshaibi.com/
photographer and video artist


This is a list of the visiting artists who made my head spin and who said things in my studio that changed how I work. There were many visits but these folks were the ones with impact for me.

Ralph Gibson
http://www.ralphgibson.com/
photographer and book artist

Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison
http://parkeharrison.com/
photographic husband and wife team with skill in performance, puppeteering, and sculpture.

Bruce Davidson
http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=MAGO31_10_VForm&ERID=24KL53ZTH6
photographer

Bailey Doogan
http://www.pbs.org/arts/gallery/arizona-artforms/kaet-bailey-doogan/
painter (which isn't a fair label really)
This is a link to a video of her work. There are also many links to her work on the web.


And then there are the awesome artists and writers that I met because of moving here.

TC Tolbert
http://www.tctolbert.com/
poet and performance artist

Samuel Ace
http://www.trickhouse.org/vol16/samuelace/samace.html
poet and photographer
This is a link to a reading and video collaboration with TC Tolbert.

Vicki Ragan
http://lightzone.org/index.html
photographer

Amrit Donaldson
http://in-transigent.blogspot.com/?zx=d76c570d6f25f4bd
writer
Her blog is by invitation only. Click this link and then follow the directions. Trust me, it's worth it.

Frances Murray
http://francesmurray.com/
photographer

Paco Valez
http://www.pacovelezart.com/
painter and performance artist

Jay Kyle Peterson
https://jaykylepetersen.com/About_Jay_C0H6.php
painter

Dylan Scholinsiki
http://dylanscholinski.weebly.com/
writer, printmaker, painter, video artist, and photographer

I must also give a nod to my English major background because as Roni Horn says "It is through the written that I find the visual."  Thank you, Dr. Patricia Gillis, Dr. Olivia Edenfield, Dr. David Dudley, and Dr. Fred Richter.


“Two or three things I know for sure, and one of them is what it means to have no loved version of your life but the one you made.”
― Dorothy Allison, Two or Three Things I Know for Sure