Here’s what I’m about…
I have a master’s degree in architecture and I’m a self-taught artist. I have an amazing wife who has given me the grace to explore who I am and still chooses to love me. We have two kids who blow our minds as we continue to discover who they were created to be. I am a fortunate man.
I am also curious. In exploring my gifts, I’ve discovered an ability to connect the unconnected and to effectively communicate these discoveries to others in ways that add value to their lives. I’ve had an interest in uncovering beauty in otherwise dark places beginning with the study of our woundedness through conceptual art, to an exploration of mythical monsters throughout history’s cultures, leading back to the personal monsters of our internal environments. And through all of this hurt, pain, fear - always beauty. It’s there if you choose to see it. I’d like to help you make the choice to see beauty.
What I’ve found through my journey is that this acceptance and understanding of the influence of monsters in our lives has some incredible benefits:
A heightened sense of creative intuition.
An increase in empathy.
Self awareness that brings peace.
A greater appreciation for the freedom given and received through unconditional love.
And I’m still learning. I’m looking forward to sharing what I discover with you, and for you to help me along this journey as well. You will have insights that may benefit us both and in turn we may discover things that can help all of us along the way. Here’s to the journey.
A TEDx opportunity that almost wasn’t…
If you found me through my TEDx talk, welcome! And thank you for your interest. That talk almost didn’t happen. Here’s why…
I know we all had some unique pandemic experiences. I hope the things we all learned about our personal resiliency will remain a positive part of our culture’s DNA.
A piece of my story has to do with TEDxBozeman. After applying to speak two years in a row, I was selected to be a part of the 2020 line up. Anyone fortunate enough to go through this process with an amazing volunteer team knows it can be an incredibly rewarding experience. The work leading up to the event was grueling and relentless - hours of prep and practice to ensure your 9 minute speech is memorized, polished, and impactful. Then two weeks before the event, after nearly a year of preparation, the pandemic hit and TEDxBozeman was canceled.
I am an introvert by nature. The pandemic solidified that identity even more, and I really loved our family time away from the masses. Even though my architectural work never slowed down, I was able to live as a partial recluse, and I was more than ok with that. After a year of adjusting to that lifestyle we were notified that the TEDxBozeman team was ready to restart the engine. I had to decide if I wanted to remain a part of the speaker line up.
I put a lot into getting this opportunity in the first place, but now I questioned whether I would be able to follow through with it. I felt panicked thinking about speaking on stage. I was getting comfortable embodying my life as an introvert. But I heard that internal voice, perhaps from a befriended monster, that reminded me of what my story could mean for others. I was given a gift in this story that only I could share. So I decided to proceed with my talk “Dear Monster, I love you” and after many more anxious months of relentless work this introvert shared a vulnerable story from stage.
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