Saints of San Francisco…I’m Working on a Book Y’all

All of my work- printmaking, performance, acting, design, jewelry, video, collage, sculpture,etc.- has several primary themes unifying them: human connection, second chances, storytelling, systems of faith, and ritual.

Over the years I hadn’t realized how much and how many times my personal art-making practice (or ritual) has not simply ‘saved’ me’, but also preserved my sanity, helped me to uncover my joy, and to affirm my path and place in the world. Art grounded me during my time in San Francisco where most of my time was spent looking for a permanent home which is technically the equivalent of homeless. I spent my time looking for housing, work, and making art and journaling to document some of my experiences.

Since my time in San Francisco, I’ve shared numerous stories of my life there with others. After sharing various stories with others I was generally met with the same response: “Wow. That is wild. You could and should write a book.” This is paraphrased of course, but I swear this was the equivalent of most responses. I’d generally scoff and say, “Me? Write a book?! I do enough.” And that was the end of it…until the next time I told a San Francisco story.

The years of hearing this have worn me down though. I’d joined a writing group through Hay House publishing after attending one of their virtual writing boot camps. I’d joined initially to help motivate me with screen writing my family’s story regarding our experiences with the Prison Industrial Complex. Even though most people in the community are focused on writing novels and other types of nonfiction, I’d found the community to be extremely supportive. Then the perfect opportunity to test out this book writing theory that so many other people had about me writing about San Francisco presented itself; twice a year Hay House offers an open submission period for members. It seemed silly not to take advantage of this and so I did.

Putting this proposal together tested so many components of my knowledge regarding not only the business of writing but also the business of being an artist. Why do I do the work I do? Who is my target audience? Who am I talking to? What do I most want to say? It was existential…and a smidgen painful. One day I found myself crying because I had a challenging time removing some emotional clutter that was in the way of an idea coming forth. It was like really bad indigestion. In the end, my book of short stories became a teaching memoir combining my San Francisco (and other) stories with various exercises focusing on art ephemera, techniques, and media that have spiritual value for me in my personal art practice.

Though I will freely admit that I didn’t go into this proposal endeavor with a fully baked idea of what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it, I felt like I came out with a product that is digestible. The equivalent of cookie dough ice cream or extremely soft baked cookies; still edible, but for some more people to enjoy my efforts cooking time might be necessary. I am proud though. I feel like my end product held together and yet there is still more work to be done. Much, much more work. So I continue.

One component of my proposal submission was a video. I made it a little about me, my work, and a summary of what my San Francisco book- called The Saints of San Francisco- is about. The saints part comes from the saints and gods that I created for random things like the Goddess of Dirty Toilet Seats and Bug Infested Mattresses while I was staying in many a Super 8 Hotel (not that they were visibly dirty it’s just the nature of hotel toilet seats and mattresses to host many bodies and butts. Why not say a prayer?). Below is my video submission. Please let me know what you think about the video or the subject matter. Would

Virus No. 1: The Conversation We Need To Have

More Than Six Feet Apart.

This is the first art related essay I’ve written since the complete reopening of Florida. Kinda sorta post pandemic, but not really post anything because at this moment I know someone who is in a hospital ICU struggling with Covid. Not so post pandemic after all. I’ve not felt as troubled about Covid-19 and the variants (though this is horrifically troubling) as I have been about who we’ve become as disgruntled, reluctant, and resistant hermits. During the height of the pandemic, between baking bread, sidewalk chalk drawings, and at home workouts we’ve had too much time to find new things to separate us. We’ve been creative in creating new hurdles for each of us to jump over to prove we are (and I cringe inwardly and outwardly as I write this) ‘woke’. I really hate that word now. Unfortunately for all our newfound ‘understanding’ and additional ‘respect’ of each other, we all seem to talk and truly connect less. I guess it’s because we all know each other so well? Probably not though.

The fear that I have now is of a world where learning how to use chopsticks, lighting incense, doing yoga, and learning how to wrap your head might be characterized at misappropriation where at one point it was seen as making an attempt to understand and experience another culture. I digress though. We need a drum circle and an exorcism to get through a full conversation on race and culture.

The Hardest Art Description I’ve Ever Had to Write…

This is by far one of the hardest work reflection/summaries I’ve ever had to write.

To say that racism is difficult to discuss is an understatement. I personally believe it is even more difficult to discuss among various minorities that may encounter racism. Unfortunately one aspect of racism that isn’t often discussed is the racism that some minorities inflict upon other minorities. I can only speak about my personal experiences but I can also say that most of these issues are universal.

When we address racism and other discrimination we often do it in pieces. We have to remember that those of European heritage/white people aren’t the only individuals that commit acts of harmful racism; even though those acts of racism have had long lasting effects and are pervasive, they aren’t unique in their nature.

We all believe harmful, racist, discriminatory untruths about each other. We have all ingested and digested this racism. But do we perpetuate the stereotypes, the hurt, and strain? Or do we, community to community, work together to find solutions and common ground?

A Different Kind of Tower of Babel.

My concern about how we interact as humans at the moment leaves us in either an echo chamber or an individual silo. Addressing these individual untruths as unique, independent, and seemingly separate issues (Asian and Jewish hate crimes, African Americans experiences with police brutality and the justice system, church and mosque shootings for example) will end up leaving us where we all started: segregated. We must address racism as the cancer it is: You don’t remove it one piece at a time, you cut it all out. If we don’t focus on what unifies all of these challenging issues none of us will truly be communicating. Finding solutions that could positively affect us all will become an impossibility.

The pandemic year has among its highlights some of the most horrible acts of racism.These acts among other things are what inspired Virus No. 1: The Conversation We Need To Have. This piece - a 3-dimensional wooden unicorn puzzle- addresses particularly painful racist encounters that I hadn’t discussed with many people concerning my time in San Francisco. Recently, I ended up in a conversation with two other women, also of minority backgrounds: Filipino-American (Lissette), Mexican-American (Eve) where I discussed these experiences. Until my conversation with these two women I didn’t realize how traumatic this time in my life had been.

Trauma From An Unexpected Place.

A number of years ago, pre-pandemic in San Francisco I spent most of my time looking for affordable housing (otherwise known as homeless) I went to many properties shown to me by people of many different backgrounds. I noticed that each time I was shown a property by someone of Chinese descent there was an attempt to convince me I either didn’t want the space or I was told that it had already been rented right after I was shown the apartment. Another experience involved my mother and I walking through Chinatown. My Mom was hot and a little dehydrated. We stopped in a restaurant to get her some water. We were ignored. We went into another place and no one would serve us. After we found my Mom water and shelter from the heat, I was troubled by a huge ‘what if’. What if my Mom had passed out? Who would’ve helped us in Chinatown, if anyone? Eve talked about how as a very light complexioned Mexican American she was often mistaken for white. Two things often happened to her, she said: white people spoke with her in a disparaging way about other minorities and she was often told by other Mexicans she wasn’t ‘Mexican (or dark) enough’. Lissette spoke to us about her strained relationship with her parents because of derogatory views they’d expressed about other people of color.

As humans we have such a long way to go in an effort to evolve to become better humans. The key is to at least begin the journey down that long road by talking to one another and having tough conversations. Racism to me is the first and most pervasive human virus and no one really seems to be working on a vaccine.

Art Changes Things...

An Art Endeavor

The Aesop Project started as an art endeavor I was working on with a group of artists I’d worked with in the past. The Republican National Convention was on its way to Jacksonville. One of the artists I’d worked with previously called me up and said she felt like we needed to do something; something to present Jacksonville artists to the world. She was hoping to use the spotlight that would be shined on Jacksonville to showcase us as artists. I agreed but added that the political nature of the timing couldn’t be escaped. I didn’t want us to squander an opportunity to speak up on several important cultural, civil rights, and human rights moments that had taken place over not just the past year but spanning the entirety of the Trump administration (and further back honestly). I felt we should speak on these issues specifically and not generalize and coalesce into a unity/kumbaya moment. Not that there is no place for it, but it is simply wasn’t the right time. It is because America has eschewed discussing the difficult things, talking around race and other important topics, I believe that we are where we are right now.

…art changes things is my point. It not only changes spaces and surfaces but it also changes perspectives, mindsets, and relationships.

To make a very long and overly dramatic story short, the rest of the group disagreed and in the most disrespectful of ways. I thought it ironic considering they wanted a show of unity. Sad. Considering at that point I’d already shared a number of my project ideas with the group.

Still Compelled

Though a little salty, I still felt compelled to continue forward to complete a project that spoke to current events. I still wanted to work collaboratively with an art crew, so I reached out to other art friends whose work and ideas I’d loved over the years but hadn’t had or created the opportunity to work together and a few folks said yes. Some felt, I’m guessing, that to create artwork in this way would be too political, polarizing, or negative. I didn’t take their desire to not participate personally, simply a manifestation of the culture we live in. People are so often ostracized for their personal opinions; right, wrong, or indifferent. I understood. None of those designations really matter though. To stand up and use your voice for what is right is never a comfortable position. This election is like no other I’ve ever seen. There is no sitting on a fence this time. There is no decision not to participate. We are in a fight for our democracy. This isn’t about politics at all.

My biggest reason for facilitating this collaborative project is because I truly believe that art changes things. I believe that when artists approach a problem or concern they see things from such a unique perspective.

This project to me and the way I have chosen to disseminate the message isn’t about speaking in an echo chamber with those I know who already agree with me, it is about reaching out to those who may be looking at things with an obscured viewpoint.

Dissemination Is The Way

The ways I’ve chosen to share what Aesop has created:

• Asking people to share the first video of a video diptych, I Can’t Believe This Is Happening with their friends, family, and network.

• Projecting I Can’t Believe This Is Happening on abandoned and dilapidated structures (intentionally symbolic of how we’ve abandoned who we say we are as Americans) also changing these spaces where we project the video with art. Which is also kind of my thing.

• Live-streaming I Can’t Believe This Is Happening on Facebook and Instagram

• Asking others to join the movement to not only vote in this election but to be more engaged civically and as humans.

There are other things I’m doing as well, but I digress, art changes things is my point. It not only changes spaces and surfaces but it also changes perspectives, mindsets, and relationships.

See for Yourself

Take a look at “I Can’t Believe This Is Happening”

This Year Let’s Be Different. P.S. Don’t Be Like This Guy. He’s An Ass.

I’ll Start Here.

The year or so I’ve been working on a community art project. A mural.

It has been a passion project. My desire is to see art in places where it isn’t. That is what has carried me forward: seeing it done.

Working as a community advocate has been surprising. A sad sort of surprising in some ways. Support has come from expected and unexpected places. Turbulence came from mostly unexpected places. I don’t usually focus on an expectation for negativity.

Not that I haven’t been doing this work for a while, I have. It’s just in the process of community building I received some unwanted gifts: sexism, racism, disrespect, and this past week as the mural culminated with it’s magical manifestation on a wall over five days…straight up insanity.

The past week and a half has been met mostly with folks appreciating the mural. This mural, the first of its kind in this neighborhood, was welcomed with people honking car horns in appreciation, people stopping by to say hello and say thank you. So positive!

Because the Universe is mostly balanced, there is Yin and Yang where there is positive there must always be the opposite in balance. There has been a whole cast of characters; mostly sane and positive. Then there were just a couple punks. That’s where the guy in the picture with the two kids comes along.

Douche Baggery.

One of the days I’d left the art site to run errands, the artist painting the mural shared a little about a man that stopped by and attempted to woo her with his ‘charisma’. That’s sarcasm by the way. He told her he was from New York- as if that was an indicator of his worldliness or worthiness- and that because of the brand of cigarettes she smoked he definitely new she would be interested in him. I know. Gross. I was apologetic, but happy that this type of harassment hadn’t been a consistent and unwelcome occurrence during her time painting the mural.

Fast forward to the last day on site and the mural artist is putting on the finishing touches our guy in the picture stops by, we will refer to him as Potter’s House (I’ll share why later). Potter’s House gets out of his vehicle with two adorable little girls in tow. He expresses his appreciation for the mural. Tells me that one of the little girls is an artist. I said awesome and that it was one of the best reasons to stop. To give a little artist encouragement. I told them I could take a picture of them in front of the mural. I introduced myself and we shook hands. He told me I had the handshake of a married woman. Ummm…what? What is the handshake of a married woman? I’ve never heard of such a thing or such a sad pickup line…I guess? My response was that it was the handshake of a strong and independent woman and artist. No marriage needed.

If this is where you think one might insert some witty banter about marriage and relationships, I’d agree with you but then we’d both be wrong. That’s where this douche proceeds to try and tell me that “the strong and independent African-American woman is the reason the African-American communities are falling apart.” His words not mine. That women need “to be concerned with taking care of a family…” Insert a raised eyebrow here. He follows this up with saying he’s a pastor of some kind at Potter’s House (as if this would validate whatever authority he holds in his imagination). Really? That’s definitely a reason not to go to a service there. Actually that’s many reasons not to go, especially if this is a doctrine that they adopt. So. I don’t think I need to tell you my personal response. I will tell you that he ran away from there. Quickly. I will also share that this is the same guy is the guy from NY that attempted to ‘woo’ the mural artist before. I know. Gross.

Why Am I Writing This?

In the past couple of days since that interaction. I think about the little girls that were with Potter’s House. First I think: Sad. A child being used as a prop as a man attempts to pick up women. I wonder how many times that has happened. Then I also think: Sad. Will that little girl get to become an artist because that man believes that she only has two jobs on the planet and they are to birth babies and support her man? Really? This. Still?

This year I want us to become the humans that we are capable of being. Less marginalization and more encouragement and progress. Less douche baggery and more treating others with respect.

I just want us all to choose better and make better choices. I hope that Potter’s House -each time he passes by the mural with a young girl as its focal point- begins to understand that women weren’t put on the earth to simply accept the blame when men’s ideas don’t go as planned, but they can be larger than life goddesses that can be strong and independent and smart. Women can choose to have families or they can choose to be artists or how about both!! But most of all in this new year I hope that Potter’s House chooses to be less of a misogynistic ass.

Happy New Year everyone!

#NotAFan But I Really Want To Be.

Opinions Are Not Safe Spaces.

I am not a fan of Beyoncé or Jay-Z.

There. I said it. Out in the rest of the world.

I am saying this out in the rest of the world that has become obsessed with them as individuals, become obsessed with their children, her pregnancies, more obsessed with these two personalities than they are with living their own lives in general. In a world that has become obsessed with only spending time with and interacting with those who only ‘like’ what they like. In a world that has become obsessed with ‘safe spaces’ and a lack of intellectual discourse on why we might individually disagree on why coffee ice cream is the best and agree to disagree having heard each other out.

Sure, I like some of his beats and whoever she has chosen to do the styling and choreography for her videos have powers on the creative scale that are pretty amazing (Pharrell is wondrous), but I am not a fan. I don’t know Beyoncé Knowles-Carter or Shawn Carter. Not personally. So what I am not a fan of are their public personas; Of what they are putting out into the world that will stand as their legacy. This is something every artist has the opportunity to choose and painstakingly craft for ourselves. Our brand. Our public persona. Don’t we? Most of us don’t have a team of 20 to help us do it though.

Voldemort.

I remember a while ago, I said I wasn’t a fan of Beyoncé’s public persona at an art show during a conversation, before I became a little more leary of how obsessed others become with the lives of others. After I said, it there was a sharp intake of air from the guy I was talking to. He choked and sputtered a little bit, gave me a very suspicious once over. His response was not unlike someone overhearing some foolish character in Harry Potter saying ‘Voldemort’. Isn’t an art show of all places a space where we can discuss what we aren’t quite in alignment with and why? Isn’t this where discussions with obnoxiously, pompously smart people happen? Oh… Ok. No? I was obviously mistaken. Pardon my ignorance. Keep my real opinions to myself. Right.

We didn’t talk again after that. Not being a part of the Beyhive to him meant we were incompatible, even as just friends. Call me crazy but I think that’s weird. Since when don’t I have the room in any relationship to not like exactly what you do? Is this who we’ve become as a country. Just joking. That’s obviously rhetorical. Look what’s going on with us politically.

#Sad | #Genius

For the first time, recently, I saw all of the “Apeshit” video. (Sure I’m a little late on this but does it matter?) Heard all of the lyrics. I came to understand that fame is a disease. It is really a monster. I don’t know who said it first but Gaga made it famous: Fame is a monster. It’s dirty. It changes things. The lyrics writhe and revel in the idea of fame and public validation:

“I said no to the Super Bowl: you need me, I don't need you
Every night we in the end zone, tell the NFL we in stadiums too
Last night was a fuckin' zoo
Stagedivin' in a pool of people
Ran through Liverpool like a fuckin' Beatle
Smoke gorilla glue like it's fuckin' legal
Tell the Grammy's fuck that 0 for 8 shit
Have you ever seen a crowd goin' apeshit? “

Have I ever? Umm…well, first I don’t every really refer to anyone really in terms that compare them to animals. It insults animals and people at some point and then you know the history of brown people being referred to as apes and such? Right? Have I ever seen a crowd going ‘crazy’? Sure. For me? No. That group of people is relatively small. Most of us have no experience with playing stadiums. Of course you don’t need the NFL, but you do know what they use those stadiums for right?

If this is all for the sake of being ‘ironic’ or if this is a caricature or parody of a self-centered, self-contained universe and I didn’t get it, well, what can I say? But if it isn’t…

My only question would be if this was all anyone ever heard about you, heard from you, experienced of you…Would you be satisfied? Is this what you’d want others to know and remember?

I loved the video (I am honestly a fan of most of Beyoncé’s videos). Love. What’s genius: juxtaposing yourself (as artist) with some of the most famous and recognizable pieces of art (even for those who don’t study art). Genius: being posed as royalty in a world where the worth of brown skin seems to have taken a sharp nose dive (prison industrial complex anyone?). Genius: cinematography, choreography, styling. Genius: having dance leotards correspond to the color of each dancers’ skin. Therefore giving it value and importance. Genius: using an institution ( the Louvre) that houses some of the most famous works of art in the world, where most of said works of art have those of us whose skin is on the darker side of brown, usually just depicted as slaves or servants and rarely in positions of power. Baby? Haven’t we arrived? Insert The Jeffersons (or something more recent and relevant) theme song here.

It takes bravery, even when you’re already loved and accepted as a certain type of artist to do something conceptual and different. To play the long game and go a little deeper. Like any other artist, it’s taking a chance that some will get what you are attempting to convey and others won’t.

What’s sad for me though: the lyrics; for both of them. Their work together and separately. That’s it. Nothing else I really don’t like. But isn’t that all? Aren’t lyrics everything? Or at least a huge part of the music experience? A great beat has its place, but I digress…I believe in everyone’s right to express themselves and not give a sanitized version just for the sake of public consumption. We are multifaceted beings. But. You have to take a bath a some point don’t you? Clean your house at some point, right? Face the sun at some point. Or don’t I guess…But I say show your smart self. Use the vocabulary that some don’t believe brown people possess. Evolve. Do more. Be more. Be something other than a stereotype. Being something other than a stereotype does not mean becoming something that is simply easily digestible and that doesn’t shake people.

Here is a word puzzle/analogy/SAT word association: Painting is to hanging on someone’s wall behind their coordinated sofa as Popular Music is to elevator music.

What artist strives to simply hang on the wall in someone’s kitchen (I guess it might depend on who’s kitchen to some) or be Muzak? Not many. It depends on what your goals are. Most artists want to be relevant. Not just part of a conversation but the entire conversation or those who change the conversation. When I think about music I think of playing it in my car and the people next to me hearing it, am I proud of what I am playing at eardrum bursting decibels? I think of young impressionable children being influenced by it. Are they encouraged to change the world, be creative, love…or “go apeshit"? It is the same way I feel about the art I create. I want to meet people where they are and take them on a journey. When people ask me to explain my work and speak about it intelligently I need to be able to do so without putting up walls that others can’t see around or get over don’t I?

A pet peeve of mine with other artists though is feeling that you have to put negativity into the world in order to add gravity to its meaning. In order for people to understand that darkness exists you don’t have to use the vocabulary of darkness or inject it into everything. For people to pay attention. Not only the dark side is meaningful. The balance is the meaning. Negative is already there. It always is. Without me or anyone else creating more of it.

The words! It’s about the words! You can’t change history. Even something as powerful as art can’t change it. You can paint it differently. That’s all. It is just a fact. Just like you can’t erase slavery or turn it into something positive, you can’t take n**** and turn it into a ‘positive’ word. It’s not my word. It’s not your word. It is hate manifest as a word. For me it affects the way I absorb anything.

Be More Than The Brand.

What I am a fan of as far as Beyoncé being and entity unto herself, Jay-Z, and The Carters as a partnership is the business sense. The branding. The polish. The vision. Magnificent.

My challenge to them and any artist honestly is to forget about the hubris, fame and all of its trappings. Do your work. Do good work. Be more than the brand. Be deeper. Be more than the polish. Understand the legacy. Be more than the words. Convey meaning. Be more than just Hip-Hop royalty, the manifestation of a bygone era that benefits from hierarchy, caste, women bumping and grinding/staying in their place, and stepping on the neck of someone else to validate a sense of self-importance. Be regal and be artists with a conscience and a true understanding of how what they make affects the world around them.

What Are You Waiting For?

As artists it seems like we are always waiting for something... for someone to buy our work, for someone to recognize our talent, for someone to give us the job we've always wanted. To be the independent thinkers that we are, it sure seems like we do a lot of waiting for others to give us what we believe we deserve. Furthermore, the people we are waiting on tend to be corporate entities and organizations (in general not purveyors of independent thinking and creativity) holding our futures in their hands...or do they?

For a long time after being out of school I looked and looked for a job in Graphic Design. I looked in Jacksonville. I looked in Philadelphia. I looked in San Francisco. I was looking for other jobs too and had worked other jobs, but what I wanted was a job doing what I loved: being an artist. I'm not sure why it took me three cities and several years to understand that when no one is offering what you want, even if you've really worked for it, maybe you have to create it for yourself.

How does one get something that only another person can give them if they don't want to give it to you? Good question. I'm not talking about them though, I'm talking about you. Create the opportunities you want for yourself. 

How do you create opportunities for yourself? Here's a couple suggestions:

1. Waiting on a job? Create your own. If you didn't know, there are freelancing and contracting sites for artists as well. It's not all Monster and CareerBuilder out there. Carbonmade is one example but there are many portfolio hosting sites that also make your work accessible to those looking for artists for temporary or contract assignments.

2. Want to build your rep? Offer to work for free (for a trial period) or volunteer. I know it seems counterintuitive, but providing your services and to a non-profit or an organization that needs them might put you in the right place at the right time. If you are offering a trial period for your services make sure you are proactive and specify an end date. In both of these types of situations don't forget to protect your work and ask for testimonials and/or letters of recommendation in exchange for the work.

3. Want to participate in a show/exhibition? Organize your own. Sitting around waiting for the perfect time, opportunity, and people to align so that you can be in a show is sometimes like waiting for a unicorn to appear. I know I make it sound super easy... because actually it is. It is just a large amount of work and organization. I've done it. I looked for other artists to show my work with and they disappeared or just didn't follow through. I ended up doing the show alone. But it was great. Stressful and a whole lot of things went wrong, but it's one thing I've done where things weren't anywhere near perfect and I was still very proud of the experience I gained.

I've just given you three examples, But there are many situations in which you can create your own opportunities. You just have to look for the way out of what you feel is a room in which you are trapped, there's usually a simple way to solve your problem--usually it just involves making your own exit.
 

TALENT. An Interview with artist Greg Francis.

http://greg-francis.com/

Urban Atelier: So you recently finished your 365Project, which was a photography adventure that you completed over a year. Tell me a little about it and why you decided to do the project.

Greg: For the 365Project, I took one photo a day, every day, for one year. It's a project I had seen in many forms over the years executed by various artists. I had always wanted to start such a project on the 1st of January, but it had always slipped my mind when that date rolled around. So on January 1, I was walking the dog and I snapped a photo. It struck me that the project had finally begun! I decided that I would announce the project via Facebook and post the daily photos there as a way to keep myself honest. Once others knew I was doing the project, It would be more difficult to let it lapse. I then decided on two simple rules. I could only use my iPhone to capture, edit and share the photos and the photos had to be taken the day they were posted.

Urban Atelier: Do you focus on particular subject matter?

Greg: Nothing in particular. Everything is fair game. Landscape, abstraction, still life…my goal is always to create a strong image, regardless of the subject matter. Usually a composition or lighting situation or color combination presents itself and I’ll document that, but I do on occasion obsess over a particular subject. Most recently, that subject has been vintage signs around St. Petersburg. I started out taking a few pictures of local signs as part of the 365Project. After I collected a handful of vintage sign images through that project, I decided to develop them into a standalone project. That project consists of a website and full-color photo book featuring 16 local vintage signs: http://vintagestpete.com/

Urban Atelier: Do you work primarily in photography or do you work in other media as well?

Greg: I primarily work in photography, as I find its the most accessible medium. With digital photography, the medium has become very democratic in that it is not imperative to have expensive equipment and dedicated working space. While I do have a decent DSLR camera and professional editing software that I use quite a bit, I am also very proud of the body of work I have created using just my iPhone.

Urban Atelier: Keeping the fact that you used Facebook instead of a traditional gallery setting to show your work do you think submitting your work to traditional galleries is still a worthwhile process?

Absolutely. In fact, after the 365Project received some local attention, I was invited to participate in a photography show at a local gallery. Facebook was great for very superficial feedback, by which I mean that I could only judge the relative success of an image by whether (and how often) it was "Liked". In the gallery setting, the feedback was much more in depth. I had some wonderful conversations with everyone from professional photographers to everyday art fans and I could really get a sense of how deeply affected these viewers were by a particular image. Nothing can replace that face to face interaction.

Urban Atelier: Did you go to school for art? Do you feel that you’d be a different artist if you hadn’t gone to school for the arts?

Greg: I received a Degree of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the University of Florida, and I later received a Degree in Graphic Design from the University of South Florida. I feel the experience of attending university for the arts was invaluable. Creatively, I feel you either have "it" in you or you don't. You can't teach creative sensibility. But you can further develop that sensibility through exposure to other artists, alternate methods of working, various materials and media and feedback from other creative people. I know for a fact that I would not be the same artist I am today had it not been for my education in the arts.

Urban Atelier: Have you become more or less daring as an artist as you’ve gotten older? If yes, in what way? If no, do you think it is necessary to take chances as an artist?

Greg: I've never been particularly daring, and that has worked out for me so far. I guess it all depends on your individual goals and whether pushing yourself out of a particular comfort zone would help you reach them. I've never felt that I hadn't gone far enough on something, although I don't know if it would necessarily be a conscious decision to do so. I've always just done what I wanted to do.

Urban Atelier: You don't think putting your work up on Facebook for the world to see and critique is a little daring?

Hmm…I never thought about it that way. I tried to put such a high standard on the quality of images that would ultimately be posted that I never really feared outright rejection. I guess it was more that I was honestly sharing images that I already loved, and any positive feedback was a bonus. Plus, I think its a very passive way to put your work out there. You have the option of whether or not to engage those that have reacted to your work on Facebook, versus a gallery setting where its much more interactive and you must react to feedback in real-time and in the flesh. I think that is FAR more daring.

Urban Atelier: Have there been obstacles to practicing your craft? How did you move beyond them?

Greg: As with most artists, my main obstacle is time. Between the "day job" and other "adult" responsibilities, there's not much time left for creating. That is why the 365Project was such a wonderful exercise. I HAD to find time to create an image because I had a daily deadline. After having a full year of daily deadlines, I got in a habit of making time to do something creative. The project officially ended on December 31, but even now I still post a daily photo. I am not beholden to follow the same rules, so that has allowed me to revisit some previous photographs that didn't fit the criteria for the 365Project.

Urban Atelier: What part of your life do you feel has been most influential in your work?

Greg: Being married to another creative person has had a great influence on my own creativity. Kelly and I share a uniquely compatible aesthetic, so we both act as sounding boards for one another. She can fill the gaps in how I may be approaching a problem, leading to a more successful, well-developed solution. We also share an affinity for travel, from which I draw much inspiration, both for design and photography.

Urban Atelier: When did you know that you are an artist?

Greg: At an early age. I would draw comic strip characters by sight almost perfectly without actually tracing. My mother and grandmother noticed this and were (and are) very supportive and have always encouraged my artistic development. While I had been interested in various professions growing up, I always knew I would end up in a creative field. Thankfully, I was never pressured to consider something more "practical". If anything, there would have been more disappointment if I HADN'T gone into the arts.

Urban Atelier: Do you have any rituals or habits that you observe before or while working?

Greg: Nothing in particular, although I guess you could call the final part of my process a habit. Before I can send anything I have created out into the world, I run it by Kelly for her seal of approval. Being so close to what you are creating can produce a certain tunnel vision at times, so having someone with a similar aesthetic review your work can be very beneficial.

Urban Atelier: Is there anything you want to make sure people know about you as an artist?

No, I think this just about covers it. I'm usually not very analytical about the whats or whys of my work. I do what I enjoy and hope that shows in the final product. My primary drive is to have some constant thread of personal creativity in my life. Whether that takes the form of photography, landscaping or web design doesn't matter. I'm most fulfilled when I have a project (or two, or three).

Since Greg and I initially spoke, he's since completed another project photographing historic signs in St. Pete. Take a look: http://vintagestpete.com/ The rest of his work is here.