Art

I sometimes like to think of myself as a “transdisciplinary” or “multi-disciplinary artist.” It’s a term that took years to embrace. Years where I fought the good fight trying to reign in my various predilections until finally the world caught up to the rest of us and gave us the name, “Geeks,” which left me open to relax and do all the things I loved with something resembling impunity. I’ve done everything from painting and sculpture to filmmaking, from music to multimedia software projects, and of course, writing. All of these things require various forms and levels of writing.

I started writing short stories in my late teens. This continued into my early 20s until eventually I discovered filmmaking and switched to screenwriting. While screenwriting covered most stories I would want to tell during this period, many would not fit well into that format. Especially the no-money-indie-filmmaking in which I engaged. These were stories better suited to the novel, something I had studied on and off for years, and so I put these ideas away for another day. That day came partway through the pandemic as it dragged and dragged, and my creative spark grew and grew all while my previous outlets were unavailable.

Thus was born the novel I’m currently writing; a globe-spanning sci-fi set in the 22nd century where things like climate change and world war have been put on the back burner by much larger existential threats. The first installment of this series of books is almost complete, with the others outlined and in various fleshed-out stages.

Though I did use the term “multi-disciplinary artist,” I’m finding the more I focus on writing, the more my other endeavors tend towards creating support media; ecosystems of art, and music in service of those written stories. This term multi-disciplinary still applies, but with a growing focus. In the end, it may be that I’m simply a storyteller, and all things exist to serve that ultimate function.