My Spirits have always driven me to new heights and new depths since I can remember, never sparing a moment for their bony hands to push me along the way…My talents for spiritual art began to emerge around the age of thirteen, when I first became genuinely interested in the Occult. Living in a small town in central Tennessee, I was ridiculed and feared for my interests and practices, but many feared my artwork as well, calling it demonic, evil, morbid, disturbing, and a multitude of other things. I found this “fear of the dark” to be intriguing, and sought to bridge the gap, as it were, by making living artwork, rife with symbolism, for meditation and for contemplation of the forces I held near and dear to my heart.
It wasn’t until a few years ago, when a dear friend mentioned to me that I should begin to market my work, that I even fathomed the possibility of making a living with the talents I had been given. I worked with many media, and for quite a while I had done only digital work, using only my left index finger and an iPad. I was first inspired to do this type of work by the paper-cut artwork of Hagen Von-Tulien, and the Wood-cuts of the Middle Ages. I began to develop my own style in time, and with whispers and guiding of hands, more work was created and delivered to the people who needed them. Part of my own spiritual praxis revolves around the creation of sacred images, and giving them life with breath, flame, and smoke. I am proud of the pieces that my spirits and I have collaborated to make thus far, and look forward to what we will produce next.
As far as creative process goes, it all begins and ends with spirit communication. I ask them what they want me to do, and they make their demands and specifics known. It is quite like I am sitting at a café inside my skull, having a drink with the spirit and they give me the details they want made known in the piece. A sorcerous grocery list of sorts. Sickles, skulls, devils, pentagrams, arcane sigils, flaming tridents, and lunar iconography are almost always present in my work due to the spirits I primarily consort with. From Virid Plant Genii to Cosmic Watchers to Infernal Kings, each wants different symbolism incorporated. While I have produced specific spirits in the past, much of my work is dedicated to the archetypes of Witchcraft, the Daemon-Familiar, The Sabbatic Witch-father, The Pale Queen below, and many others. Many are titled with epithets such as “Blood-Mother” instead of specific names, to preserve the secrets learned through tradition and pact. Because of this, rather than act as vessels for MY specific spirits, they can be doorways for many spirits of the same character to come through into the life of the viewer and practitioner.
Many paths have inspired my art, and therefore my praxis. From heresies, to myths, to legends, to folk-tales, to established Traditions, I have gathered the sparks of inspiration and used them to stoke the flames of creativity within my heart and let them flow through my hands. The turning-point from my digital work began after my initial steps in Quimbanda, a Sorcerous tradition from Brazil of spirit-communication with the legions of The Devil and his Wife, called Exu and Pomba Gira. They told me to drop the digital work and seek more traditional media, whereby they would be able to guide my hands even better. Thus, the iPad was put away, and the brushes, pens, pencils and paints where exhumed from the dusty tombs of my studio. While not technically in my spiritual court, I have achieved wonderful results through a spirit named Exu Pemba, whose name means Exu Chalk. Through personal rites and agreements made with this spirit, my brushes, pens, pencils, and even hands were given new life, breathing upon the coals of inspiration, and producing newer, stronger pieces in which the sparks of spirit could shine with renewed brilliance. I do not know how much they will change my craft as time goes on, but I can say with certainty that new and even more potent work is on the horizon…new idols waiting to be crafted and given form. with blood, with ink, and with fire…In The Devil’s name.
It wasn’t until a few years ago, when a dear friend mentioned to me that I should begin to market my work, that I even fathomed the possibility of making a living with the talents I had been given. I worked with many media, and for quite a while I had done only digital work, using only my left index finger and an iPad. I was first inspired to do this type of work by the paper-cut artwork of Hagen Von-Tulien, and the Wood-cuts of the Middle Ages. I began to develop my own style in time, and with whispers and guiding of hands, more work was created and delivered to the people who needed them. Part of my own spiritual praxis revolves around the creation of sacred images, and giving them life with breath, flame, and smoke. I am proud of the pieces that my spirits and I have collaborated to make thus far, and look forward to what we will produce next.
As far as creative process goes, it all begins and ends with spirit communication. I ask them what they want me to do, and they make their demands and specifics known. It is quite like I am sitting at a café inside my skull, having a drink with the spirit and they give me the details they want made known in the piece. A sorcerous grocery list of sorts. Sickles, skulls, devils, pentagrams, arcane sigils, flaming tridents, and lunar iconography are almost always present in my work due to the spirits I primarily consort with. From Virid Plant Genii to Cosmic Watchers to Infernal Kings, each wants different symbolism incorporated. While I have produced specific spirits in the past, much of my work is dedicated to the archetypes of Witchcraft, the Daemon-Familiar, The Sabbatic Witch-father, The Pale Queen below, and many others. Many are titled with epithets such as “Blood-Mother” instead of specific names, to preserve the secrets learned through tradition and pact. Because of this, rather than act as vessels for MY specific spirits, they can be doorways for many spirits of the same character to come through into the life of the viewer and practitioner.
Many paths have inspired my art, and therefore my praxis. From heresies, to myths, to legends, to folk-tales, to established Traditions, I have gathered the sparks of inspiration and used them to stoke the flames of creativity within my heart and let them flow through my hands. The turning-point from my digital work began after my initial steps in Quimbanda, a Sorcerous tradition from Brazil of spirit-communication with the legions of The Devil and his Wife, called Exu and Pomba Gira. They told me to drop the digital work and seek more traditional media, whereby they would be able to guide my hands even better. Thus, the iPad was put away, and the brushes, pens, pencils and paints where exhumed from the dusty tombs of my studio. While not technically in my spiritual court, I have achieved wonderful results through a spirit named Exu Pemba, whose name means Exu Chalk. Through personal rites and agreements made with this spirit, my brushes, pens, pencils, and even hands were given new life, breathing upon the coals of inspiration, and producing newer, stronger pieces in which the sparks of spirit could shine with renewed brilliance. I do not know how much they will change my craft as time goes on, but I can say with certainty that new and even more potent work is on the horizon…new idols waiting to be crafted and given form. with blood, with ink, and with fire…In The Devil’s name.