My parents were artists but also were Christian Evangelical pastors. This upbringing set me on my path to follow in their righteous footsteps. They instilled in me my religious boundaries and a passion to express myself through art.
I grew up drawing, painting, taking photos, became a self-taught graphic artist, wrote stories (for sermons), danced, and loved fashion.
Most of these things were ok, as long as they could be used to advance the kingdom of God.
It wasn’t until my late 20’s that I started to deconstruct my faith and all that I was brought up with, but what kept me going was art. It was always a way of expressing my heart and my soul. It was my soul that would get me into religious trouble, it was my soul that loved sexuality and all things sexual.
I remember my parents strict ban on nudity when it came to movies and tv. But they had an exception to the rule, if it was painted art or artistic photography curated by a museum or in a library, it was deemed safe. It was this exception to the rule that stirred my eye for all things nude in photography. I would find myself growing up lost in photography books and art history books looking for whatever nudes I could find. The real source was those upper shelves in Barnes & Noble bookstores where I would find photographers’ works. Yes, I found the occasional porno magazine, but the religious guilt associated with them kept me away from those nude forms. I always found myself back at the source. The artist behind the camera.
It was here that I fell in love with composition. With the stark contrast of Black and White. With the suggestion of form. With the suggestions of erotic thoughts and sex. It was these artists that lit up brain and set deep the root of my camera as a tool of desire and sensuality.
I have since left the church and all things religious. Part of leaving and having time away has allowed me to open up some venues of expression in a more public way. I am no longer hiding my work from friends, which after the purge of the devout Christian ones, I can now share openly what I do. It has been liberating, exciting and scary all at the same time.
I look forward to capturing human beauty in all of its forms. I can only guess as to where this will take me, it has already taken me to some wonderful places.
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