The Art of Conviction

         Sadly my story is much more common these days. The whole beautiful child growing up to become angry and criminal. Something about society keeps getting more and more conditioned to people making this transformation. The people who have gone down this road with me, we didn't just become angry, something made us that way. I'm not writing this to find a solution to the problem, but simply tell a story that will hopefully put it in perspective. For me it was my parents divorce.

         I grew up with a loving family, two parents that loved one another, two younger siblings that were really my best and only friends. We grew up on a sailboat, no seriously a 26 ft. riverboat that we braved on the ocean waves. My parents got sick of everything, the house, the mortgage, city life, and the way the world does things. So we sold everything and bought a twenty-one window deluxe Volkswagen Micro-Bus, three kayaks, and the sailboat. We were officially gypsies. 

         I have always been artistic, my mom used to draw me these beautiful pictures of animals and I would draw little lines to each animal illustrating them interacting with one another. My goal was to some day be as good as her, so I quickly achieved it. My father taught me the hands on approach, teaching me carving, bow making, flint napping, and chainmaille. As a young child these things were always half-skills but as I grew so did my ability to perfect those skills. 

         These articles will tell my story with the words that my art attempts to convey. This story is beautiful, its dark, depressing at times, but even though the past has its scars I have found a way to heal them. Maybe you feel the way I do, or maybe you want to understand it, or perhaps you just want to see some cool art and how I created it. But either way I hope you get something out of it, I know I did.