What’s a brief overview of what you do?
I live in Somerville, MA, where I spend much of my time drawing, writing and playing guitar. More specifically: I’ve been working on a series of abstract line drawings, with both my dominant and non-dominant hand. I like to write proverbs, melodramas, novels, poetry, and, recently, something perhaps you could call narrative non-fiction word miasmas, however unpromising that sounds. On the music front, I love to write songs, and am playing guitar and singing in Somerville’s own Weather Weapon. We play rock.
Here’s some more info about all that stuff:
Drawings, right hand:
Drawings, left hand:
Weather Weapon:
Online serialized novel, My Days with Millicent:
Is there anything new you’re working on, or an event that’s coming up?
The drawings will be making their non-virtual debut at Streetcar Wine in JP in November. The opening is Nov. 6th if anyone is around! I think it’ll be pretty fun. Weather Weapon recorded over the summer and we’re finishing up a debut rekkid. Superstoked! We have a show on Dec. 1st at Charlie’s. I’ve been putting together a music/comedy/noise series with Angela Sawyer (from Weirdo Records) called EXTREMELY CASUAL and the next show is Tuesday, November 11th https://www.facebook.com/events/619958024781299/?fref=ts. Should be a lark. A lark with very talented people! And extremely casual.
And while I have a few poems, short stories and interviews here and there, I’m most excited to have My Days with Millicent, a post-WWII mystery potboiler novel I wrote, being serialized online at OhioEdit.
Why do you do what you do? What’s something you get out of it?
It’s fun. It’s also exhausting, unprofitable (unless you are very lucky), troublesome, a little ridiculous, and, on occasion, crushingly discouraging, but it’s also a lot of fun. I should say I don’t find it a very…romantic process, if you will. More a part of the day, as many days as possible.
You're involved in a couple different forms. What lead to that? What do you get out of working in different media?
That’s just how the brain chemistry cookie has always crumbled for me. I don’t think it’s really too unusual. Everyone works best really differently. There are arguments against multi-arting, mainly I think winding up in a permanent state of dilettantism. That could be a hazard, I suppose. That doesn’t spook me unduly, for whatever reason. A while back, I was really only writing, but in retrospect, I don’t think it helped the writing any, except for volume. Although doing so might have for someone else. Who knows?
I guess I do tend to be focused more on expression than end results. It would be (totally!) disingenuous for me to say I don’t want that expression to result in something (insert all caveats about subjectivity here) good—even great, if I could be so very blessed—but ultimately it’s about articulating a thought, feeling, or idea as best I can. Meaning whatever is happening or interests me that day or week or year. Sometimes this results in what I feel is a success. Even when it doesn’t, though, I can’t think of a time I wasn’t glad I made the attempt. Don’t get me wrong, great end results are a fine thing to aspire too, in and of themselves. I got no problem with that.
Anyway, all this being said, occasionally, I do wonder if it seems like I’m a greedy art hog wanting to do all these things at once. Or have art commitment issues. Ha!
What got you involved in doing what you do? Is there someone or something that was important in getting you on your way?
Art I love. Novel addiction. Punk rock. Feminism. ‘Zines. I had a writing teacher in college who encouraged me. All the cool animals that exist. Being a part of arts communities. British mystery TV.
Any thoughts on the local Somerville, or Boston-area creative scene?
Good gravy, there is a lot going on, whether it be experimental music series, the community that’s emerged from Girls Rock Camp Boston, the writers, the rawkers, the poets, or all the people and events that come out of the universities, etc. There’s so much, I wonder how other people manage this constant tension between wanting to go see art and wanting to make art. I haven’t lived anywhere else for a good while now, but it seems Boston and Somerville could rival most places for volume/quality/sheer interestingness.
More Artists of the Month from 2014
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About the Artist of the Month
This program is inspired by the Nave Gallery’s “Featured Artist” program, which ran from 2005 to 2009.
SAC’s Artist of the Month program is a way for us to celebrate the enormous wealth of talent in our city, by shining a spotlight on a different creative Somervillian each month.
This program has been put together by a whole raft of people: Coordinators Jenn Harrington (2013-2014) and Kellie Veiga (2013), Gilmore Tammy (2017) and Somerville Arts Council board members Matt Kaliner, Tim Devin, Valeria Amato, and Michael J. Epstein, Bill House (2019-2020), Charan Devereaux (2019-2025), Tori Weston (2019-2025) and Andrea Read (2022-2025). Current coordinators, are Kerrie Kemperman (2019-), Seth Garcia (2025-), and Ben Cuba (2026-).
Know of a great Somerville based artist who should be recognized, please nominate the artist for consideration. We seek artists who contribute to the community through their strong work and community collaborations. Artist should either reside in the City or contribute to the City’s vibrant art scene.