Century Plant - 2022
Yellow Saguaro - 2024
Reflections on Solitude and Nature
I went through the highest highs and the lowest lows of my life in the southwest, exploring myself and my surroundings. Living near the mountains was a dream for me growing up in the Midwest. It was an idea, reading or watching characters in movies. How many miles have I hiked here? Hundreds. How much elevation? At least 200 flights weekly. How many miles have I driven? Thousands– through New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas.. I studied plants, wildlife, land and my own internal landscape. consciousness. Created a version of myself through various phases. I carried a sharp knife with a five inch blade and successfully managed not to speak to a soul for 4 days.
Pink Saguaro - 2024
I’ve always been the type of person that lives inside of my head. Communication never came as easy as it did for others in my family. As much as I loved exploring in nature there was insecurity. Getting lost, stalked by cougars, falling on my ass near a cliff's edge, running out of water becoming severely dehydrated and confused. None of this was dissuasive. It was training for the boy who grew up in the city. I kept going back, with more water, with a knife, and walking sticks. Learning from my mistakes and getting smarter and safer. I followed the path of the mule deer or the coyotes and javelinas and successfully climbed every accessible peak around the Soledad Canyon valley in the Organ Mountains.
Yucca Desert Collage - 2025
Slot Canyon - 2023
It was the isolation that finally got to me. Sometimes spending days not speaking to a soul and making plans to be in nature instead of connecting with people. At times it was as if I forgot how to function in society. I would return to work after a weekend in the deep woods and have to slowly integrate back into normal conversations and a demanding job. There was a fear of losing my life, alone. I just didn’t want to do anything else, but wander and explore. I realized slowly that I had abandoned my family because I felt an obligation to the mountains. After years of being in this mental space I longed to have my partner back, my family, people who understood who I really am. The pull to the mountains is still with me, but my relationship with them has changed. I needed to put an end to it so I could begin to reflect on my mental health. After this divergence of character, I understand more about this persona, within me, that craves a life that is simpler, unplugged, alone. A wanderer with nowhere to be except in the present immersed in isolation.
Desert Erosion - 2024
Agave Americana - 2024
Ocotillo - 2024
Barrel Cactus - 2025
Agave Parryi- 2022
Desert Spoon- 2024