Energy is everything

July 11th, 2025 | Aspen Collective Gallery & Jimoto Ramen

The invisible force that connects all. From the infinite cosmos to the fundamental particles, it is the great unseen power that we all possess and project. It is our direct line of communication to the spirits, ancestors, and planes of existence unknown to our physical three-dimensional world. These images and symbols represent my force, the energy I broadcast to the universe.

These works symbolize a profound connection with nature and draw directly from my energetic centers: Woody Creek, Lenado, Black Rock City, and Beyul. Ancient scriptures from times past are influential in my visual representation of my energy and vibration: Egyptian hieroglyphs, Sanskrit, Native American petroglyphs, ancient symbols, and letter forms of antiquity. The intricate bouquets of flora depicted with ink are directly linked to the rugged mountainous land for which I feel so much admiration, love, and respect, combined with gold leaf that provides a reflective, ethereal, otherworldly essence. 

These energies are our way of influencing, speaking to, and accessing the infinite quantum realities and endless abundance for all of us in the universe. When our physical bodies of this world deteriorate, our energy remains and will guide our spirits to new dimensions far beyond. 

FOR MICHELE

Nothing Lasts Forever

July 12th, 2024 | Aspen Collective Gallery

A flower twists through the arid soil of the west, somehow having found the way - pushing skyward petals outstretched, having defeated all the odds of survival. Yet at the corner of our eye, we catch a soft indication of a petal just starting to turn downward. Fall is approaching, the time has come for the inevitable cycle to return and for the vanity of life to enter its next hour: transformation. When we realize the inherent ephemeral nature of everything, anything can become a memento-mori - a reminder to live fully and presently in the face of impermanence and decay. Our only response to such a world can be to follow the example of flora and reside in the present moment. 

I have lived cycles within my own life, with my own personal attachments, and as a witness to nature’s change. Flowers resemble the endless faith in the cycle. Things may get rough, things may disappear and shift - but time passes and beauty always finds its way through the rugged soil. This body of work is an attempt to mirror the internal changes of my life with external symbolism. I am familiar with welcoming winter, but every time the petals start to drop - I cling to the before. These flowers I have chosen to represent serve as reminders, solidifying the faith in a cycle that takes its course regardless of what I collect or plan for.

In Aspen where people come together from all disciplines within life -  the flower seemed the most apt symbol for our common humanity. Regardless of what we surround ourselves with, the petals will ultimately fall. By capturing the fleeting beauty of a bloomed flower in a durable, more permanent medium like ink, I hope to provide and preserve that vital reminder, not with a skull or a morose image, but with an object of delicate elegance.

FOR ANGUS