Hi, I am a creative who utilizes words, ink, performance, and software to express my understanding of the world. I strive to challenge our perception of the world using the most effective tools available: attention-grabbing visuals, humor, and design that suits intention and purpose. Above all else, I strive most to respect my audience, in particular, their time/attention & ability.
A few not-so-short words for Ian's
Ian is empowering those with mental illness by making his more visible and making it easier to talk about. He is empowering everyone through the technology he creates.
Ian grew up in the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming. He was a good little boy and did as he was told. He got older and his mom figured something wasn't quite right with that little fella. She moved Ian and his sister to Calgary where they could be closer to family and better healthcare. Ian eventually got diagnosed with schizophrenia and was given a free pass to get out of most situations: "that's not something I should do, I'm schizophrenic," he would say.
After graduating high school by a thin hair's margin, he went straight to work in retail. He spent the majority of his 20s being a good little boy and did as he was told. But, Ian kept getting crazier. The more he lived by the white supremacist code of "justice" and "merit," the less people seemed to abide by it. He didn't question why they did this. He also didn't question why his work was slowly killing him, he simply moved on and slowed himself down.
During Ian's slowing down, he played online video games where he befriended a New Yorker who was a retired software executive experimenting with self-care. Together, they experimented on themselves from devouring medical articles on PubMed. Ian began to get better and better. He never knew he could feel so good beyond taking his medication. Ian felt empowered enough to finally go to college.
“Oh wow, that guy looks SO interesting! He's coding, making art, and ...weeping uncontrollably. Or is he laughing? I can't tell. Both?”
He graduated with honours, became a literal posterboy for the diploma program he was in, and ventured out starting his web design/development consultancy. This consultancy began killing him, just like retail did. In the midst of COVID when the world was forced to slow to his pace, he was able to excel ahead and growth accelerated. In this apex of performance, he could not reconcile the demands of sole proprietorship with his illness. He started to become a bad boy who didn't do what he was told. The machine spit the cog, Ian, out of its system and he was on his own thereafter.
Ian is now sad. Ian is now mischievous. Ian is now polymonotheistic, in a loving relationship with god. Ian loves people now, too. All of them. Ian is content. Ian is enraged. Ian is care-free. Ian has no fear. Ian's blood boils. Ian is honest, including with himself.
Now, Ian still makes technology and design. He also makes art. He does stand-up comedy. He does poetry, including live performance. He collaborates with musicians and poets. He only shows up in places where he brings himself genuinely, authentically, with joy.
