I started enameling in a poorly constructed leaning garage in Atlanta. I was unemployed in the middle of the great recession during a record breaking hot summer. Through fortuitous circumstances, I befriended the master enamelist Zingaro, I shadowed the artist around his studio until he gave me the keys to enameling that would later evolve into my first works - Spiritiles.
For months I spent every waking hour over a kiln, experimenting, sketching, living on only "ramen and beer". The only reason my art exists today is because I had no other option - no job to fall back on, no security other than what I could create myself. Tenacity keeps me going. When one thing doesn’t work, step back, retool, and try a new path.
I love spitballing ideas and trying seemingly crazy things just to see if they work. By harnessing that constant experimentation, art evolves. That’s how it’s possible to create a dueling form of enameled imagery and with bending stories and quotes out of context into something entirely new…I call it “design” but it’s something unnamed.
What pushes me forward is the uplifting thoughts and musings. This is the cornerstone of my work- creating art that uplifts, and brings a hopeful connection to life. Check out videos on my process here.
- houston