About

Syndetic is..



An exploration of how humans are shaped by disparate moments and the decisions, happenstances, and people that send us down a specific path, as opposed to another, creating our world view and character through the filter of my own experience expressed as candidly and honestly as is possible. The outcome will be an exhibition of mixed media paintings and handwritten essays, and, eventually, a stage performance and book.

Interested? Keep reading.

"syn·det·ic (sin-det’ik)adj. 1. Serving to connect, as a conjunction; copulative or conjunctive. 2. Connected by a conjunction."

For years, I have chosen to hide behind the security blanket of symbol and metaphor as a reflection of myself, my past, my present, and various other ideas.

Making a move to utter, blunt honesty is an exciting and scary proposition, but I've decided to flay myself bare before the eyes of the world in the form of mixed media paintings (primarily waterbased paints/inks, but whatever else each individual piece may call for) and written essays (that will be shown side by side with paintings).

In the paintings of the Syndetic Series, I will choose subject matter that I consider to be integral in shaping the way I interact with world and the view I have of myself. The pieces will be painted and written chronologically and touching on keystone events and people including the birth and death of my brother, my suicide attempts, experiences travelling and in communes, etc.

Taking a still of each moment in time, I hope to create a better picture of how disparate occasions shape our whole being and, in the process, allow the viewer and myself to come to conclusions, either together or seperately.

Like all things, art requires funding. I'm asking you, dear Kickstarter donor, to support this project. Many people are unaware of the costs involved in a solo art show. When one begins to add up costs of canvases, paints, space to work in, venue, promotion, flyers, food, drink, prints, framing, music... it quickly adds up.

All funds will be utilized to meet these needs. There are bevy cool rewards to choose from. Thank you so much for your time and consideration.

The first painting and essay of the Syndetic Series, “Only Slightly Recollected" – Watercolor, Ink, Inktense Pencil on Gessoed Canvas – 16 X 20

“Only Slightly Recollected” is representative of my very first conscious memory. The instance illustrated had to take place somewhere between 1981 and 1982. It was at my family’s first home in a small farm house outside of Lafayette, Indiana. My brother wasn’t born, yet.

My mother held me up to pet a horse owned by our landlord (who I can only recall as a faceless, frightening older farmer). The horse was incredibly exciting for me. It was gentle, but scary. It’s scale, compared to my tiny hand, was as large as any living creature I could imagine existing. It might as well of been a dragon or dinosaur.

From what little I know about the way memory functions, the only way it’s possible for me to have such a distinct image of this moment in brain would be me remembering what I once knew. It’s not a genuine memory, but almost a fictitious recreation of events. I used first person view point, abstract shapes, and composition that spills from the edges to give the impression of dreaminess that mirrors what’s in my mind.