I've always been driven by the desire to learn and create, rather than being content with merely appreciating the work of others. In 2010, I discovered my affinity for tie-dye. I began to study and learn the different techniques needed to create beautiful and challenging designs. Around the same time, a friend introduced me to custom modifications for Smash Brothers Brawl. I was intrigued by the opportunity to make something of my own and quickly started designing custom mods. I was playing in my high school's string orchestra and had started making arrangements for the group. By 2014, I was also exploring videography and editing while helping create my school's daily announcement videos.

 

As my passion for and knowledge of tie-dye grew, I saw an opportunity to share my designs with the public. I eventually opened a booth at a local community farmer’s market, where my work was well-received. I took a break from tie-dye, but when I came back to it in 2021, I quickly found success both on Etsy and after having been discovered by a renowned tie-dye store in San Francisco. Throughout my time running this business, I've expanded from creating and selling, to taking custom orders and requests, making my own promotional material, and staging my own products.

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My fascination with custom video game modification has inspired me to learn how to animate on various platforms, including SFM (Valve's Team Fortress 2 - based cinematic animation software), Cinema 4D, and Blender. It also led to me teaching myself how to texture models, create 3D materials using bump maps and normal maps, etc.

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The thrill of creating my own music for the high school string orchestra resulted in me pursuing a degree in music composition at Western Washington University. Somewhere along the way I also decided I liked percussion instruments more than string instruments, and I wanted to learn them for myself. However, Western's percussion department was full, so I made my own marimba from scratch in order to learn.

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My experience with shooting and editing "news" segments in high school led me to pursue more knowledge and techniques, including branching out into the Adobe Creative Suite (rather than just Final Cut). It also lead to my discovery of some more esoteric media creation programs, such as fractal animators like Chaotica.

 

My desire for creative fulfillment has not lessened as I’ve matured. In addition to continuing my endeavors in tie dye, music, and videography, I've also taught myself several VFX and animation programs, branched out into building other musical instruments, developing audio processing patches in Max MSP, and taking mixed media commissions from colleagues and friends, all while maintaining a successful YouTube platform showcasing my skills (I have nearly 50 thousand subscribers and over 20 million total views). Moving forward, I am continuing to re-shape my skills so that they are complementary; I look forward to being in a position that allows me to do so further.

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