ABOUT ME
If you’ve come looking for a traditional artist’s profile… This ain’t it. I’ve done a lot of wandering over the years, and while I have been artistic, I don’t have a fine arts degree, or a studio, and I haven’t been featured in some gallery somewhere (Though I HAVE technically had a piece on display in a museum). So who am I, then?
I'm Josh, born and raised in Central New York (it's beautiful up here, and hardly anything like NYC, come visit some time), and currently settling into Massachusetts. I have always had a passion for learning, and have been making art and crafting things since high school in the early 2000's. Since 2014, I have worked in higher education helping deserving students get through college and wrestle with life's big questions.
I call myself a story collector because I love getting to know how people got to where they are now, gobbling up little nuggets of wisdom, and passing that wisdom along to my students. I love getting and giving exposure to new ideas, concepts, and perspectives.
I call myself a serial hobbyist because I apply my love of learning to every day. I accumulate knowledge by getting my hands dirty, and I often look at the world with a “I could probably do that” attitude. Turns out, I can, and you probably can too!
I call myself an artist, because I feel compelled to bring my visions to reality and to push the boundaries of my craft a little bit further every time I set my pliers to a new project
I find there's an interesting intersection between the deeper questions of life and the practice of creating something, and I am glad I get to do both nearly all the time in work and at home. Meditation and Creation look remarkably similar.
I am also an ordained Dudeist Priest. Yes, that means I can do weddings. Yes, I’m serious.
A bit more about my own wandering
A few years back a student of mine made me aware of Alan Watts, which led me to picking up a copy of his book Tao: The Watercourse Way. While I wouldn't say I'm a Daoist now, the philosophy has felt a bit like coming home, and I have thought more deeply about religion and philosophy than I have in a long time. I don't have a formal education in philosophy or religion, but I do read, and I think, and I enjoy deep conversations where we can think together.
Funny thing is, going back a few more years, I was a graduate student fascinated by sacred music and medieval theologians. A few years before that I was listening to Gregorian chant while I studied, and sang in my church choir. A few more years still, I was confirmed at a church whose confirmation process involved visiting religious institutions outside of our own in order for us to experience and appreciate a wider range of faith expressions. My mom long thought I might become a priest, and I'm sure she saw all those signs that took me until only a few years ago to see were there. Maybe one day, who knows?