About Me

A Sketch Group

Therapy For Situational Loneliness

Why does anyone do what they do? Sometimes I need a reminder. That’s where my sketch group comes in.

Illustration is my foundation. From it, I’ve learned to sketch, problem-solve and create. That is why I seek out other professionals who enjoy to concept of their ideas through mixed media. I feel working freelance from home will at times put me in a mental place of loneliness. It is only much more recently that I discovered the disconnecting feeling of working in isolation. I didn’t know what it was but I just felt that my actions were not real to anyone outside of my home. That is when I realized the importance of having social groups to interact and understand. They can be anything. I started a Movie watching group as well as a Sunday brunch meet-up

Video Games

Mini Quest and the Importance of Play

I would say that video games provide challenge, problem-solving, and fun. That is why I play them. When did Fun become a bad word?

Belief holds that setting achievable goals requires hard work.

Work can be a fun experience, but that does not make it work any less. The effort to accomplish goals within games requires skill and it is not always easy to acquire the skills needed. Which is another thing I appreciate. The games serve the purpose of providing satisfaction and fulfillment through adversity. This is a life lesson.

Meaningful goals are worth pursuing and working towards. They will require an effort but when you decide what “they are” they have more of a chance of being fun.

Octodaze

Synth Appreciation 101

I’ve been interested in the power of music to soothe the complicated life. Producing music like any challenge that’s new excites me. Not knowing what the path is allows me to experiment and iterate without correction. Full adaptability mode. Research shows music has a calming effect on people. My love for it has found its home in analog and digital instrumentation. It’s unlimited in its accessibility and range. There is no need to be an expert to compose. I love electronic music. I will listen to upbeat tracks to conceptualize and lo-fi beats to research. I started producing and putting my own work online.

Bandcamp:

Octodaze

Baking: A Sweet Passion

In all my creative journeys a place that I have found to be incredibly comfortable, complex, and rewarding is baking. Working in a bakery echoes my time spent in the military. You need a sense of awareness to succeed in this realm. You are constantly collaborating with the community of bakers around you. Most of the challenge that comes from baking is a mixture of science facts, a disciplined mind, and intuitiveness. Baking allows me the creative spirit, but it’s limited in its free experimentation such that there is a scientific formula in the guise of a simple recipe. I’ve learned to appreciate this formula because it provides limitations on what can and what should be done to make a good product

Running

Healing through Exertion

I love running. It is meditative. It’s focused based and clears my head for the day ahead. Great ideation seems so much more accessible after a run.

A running group typifies the ideas of collaboration and solitary meditative states. Sharing the pavement on a 5k run there are no outliers. Everyone shares in the same challenge. To finish. The experiences we feel are varied though and that’s where the beauty exists. The group will at times diverge as everyone finds their own pace. Different efforts produce differing results. In the end, even when I have to make an effort on my own to complete the run the group always encourages me. The perfect collaboration:)

Stepping Into the Data Stream

The next leg of my journey takes me deeper into the Usability world. I’ve started to understand that my community-minded time as a freelance designer, my understanding of design principles, and my mission to bring guidance and a bit of humility to my work have made me an excellent candidate for bringing user-friendly experiences to people. It’s a confusing time and I would love nothing more than to help people up as I learn how to navigate the complexities. I’d love to make an album of relaxing pop music, open a cafe for people as a shelter from the day, and start a community-based recycling/cleanup app. I believe as I show this caring to others in my pursuit of design solutions I will be rewarded greatly with growth of character and value through service.