Tactophilia

I was born in Portland Oregon and raised in nearby Dundee. The 80's were a delightful time to grow up: minimal screen time, play, discovery, no internet or comment section. I got to making things early — tinkering on whatever clear spot I could exhume atop my father’s disaster of a workbench. I struggle working with groups so I remain independent, with the exemption of excessively large orders. I struggle with directions so I write my own. I thrive during improvisation — It generates the creativity that makes work less like work and more like a state of wonder. 

Tactophilia is what I've come to call my method - it's nothing really, but it suggests an ‘ism’ — a belief system that validates my ideology. I use my hands, my most valued tools. I use my hand tools. They make the process authentic. That keeps me honest. It keeps me trying. I believe in a seemingly antiquated modality where the conduit between the maker and the piece requiring full attention is blurred over bonding and an overall proprioceptive investment. I down the volume. I slow down. I concentrate. That sort of peace and isolation drugs my attention span and alters the connectivity to my surroundings. It's like haptic compulsion. It comes with real consequences. It involves being involved and I believe in that involvement like it’s religion.

I studied woodworking and metalsmithing at Oregon College of Art and Craft where I earned my BFA in 2009. I have 19 years in this wood racket and stave idleness with a focus on writing, painting, illustration, and sculpture.

I steer clear of most things internet. I accept a bad cup of coffee and I don’t exactly buy into the barista coffee shop ‘artisan’ ruse in a disposable cup. I don’t believe in a disposable way of consuming. Purchases should be made with purpose and should be lasting. I believe things were better before everything had to be perfect: perfectly curated for attention grabs and ‘Likes’ — perfect — to bolster bragging rights and inauthentic portraiture. I like dark, deep and honest comedy and my 5 all-weather friends. I believe in kindness and discipline and the pursuit of caring for others. I’m ethically and morally solvent and I struggle with modernity. Everything was better before everything was convenient.

And that’s me— a thankful, hard-working, idea man, who, rarely gets, but enjoys a slow and quiet day of making things, reading, climbing and mt. biking when the camaraderie is right, and cooking for my wife and daughter.