To Life, Eyes Open

Like many artists, I've been drawing ever since I could pick up a crayon. I started writing in a sense then, too. My Grandma Harvey brought me reams of white or peach newsprint, small and large pads, the kind with the thick red glue blinding strip from the Blade. I used each page like a panel in a comic book to tell stories, filling up a pad though one side and then turning it over to draw through the other side.

My early stories were about Godzilla, the Superfriends, and the classic MGM monsters - the fictional characters I saw on television that had the most impact on me. I was introduced to Star Wars, and the storytelling continued with those characters both in drawings and with the action figures.

Then came my early creative Golden Years, those long summers spent staying up all night playing with G.I. Joe and creating my own superhero universe. I drew until the sun came up.

After graduating from Central Catholic High School in 1990, I continued to draw while I meandered my way though early college. I dropped out and worked menial jobs until that life scared me back to school. I earned my BA in studio art at the University of Toledo in 1998 with a concentration in digital art, though I had enough credits to add drawing and printmaking for a triple major if I wanted to.

I've worked during the eight years since at Root Learning, Inc., a corporate engagement and strategic alignment company. I was a graphic artist for most of that time and recently became a conceptual artist.

The artist side of me satisfied, I began writing again in earnest in 2005. I finished the first draft of my first novel in a month and a half and finished the revision a month ago. While it's being proofread, I'm enjoying creating this website and continuing my writing.

The title above? I intended to begin a note to a friend years ago with the line, "To life, to life, l'chaim," but I couldn't remember how to spell l'chaim. I had already written "To life," and thought for a moment about how to finish it without misspelling. To Life, Eyes Open, I wrote, and it's been my mantra ever since.

Now, I stand at a threshold anxious to cross. Here's to publication.