Selected Portfolio Projects
OVERVIEW
This selected portfolio list highlights my largest and most encompassing projects to date. These projects combined mixed media art with mulit-media presentations and technology. My overarching goal was to creatively bridge the physical and digital worlds to create unique multimedia stories and experiences. These projects were great learning experiences that challenged me as an artist. All of these projects were at their core experimental in nature, yet the desired intent was always to grow as an artist and creator. I hope you enjoy learning about them. If you’re interested in creating or collaborating on something new or similar please don’t hesitate to reach out. Thank you!
01: AR Active ‘zine’ : Rand()
Description
Rand() was my first attempt at creating a ‘zine’ or miniature magazine to increase awareness of my artwork and to organically market myself. Rand() representing Random Integer. Random integer being a nod to the coding and digital design work I was doing at the time. It also reflected my thoughts on determinism and randomness. During my time spent in Washington D.C. I came in contact with a very active collection of artists, musicians, amateur technologists and poets. Often these artists were working with little to no personal resources. They displayed and grew attention to theirs or other’s work in very unique ways. In these areas where I would mix with these folks I would discover lots of self-published magazines or ‘zines’, infographics, tutorials or poetry catalogues that were often printed on generic copy paper. In these zines would be everything from step-by-step how to fix a toaster, to feminist poetry, to activism, to how to javascript code for beginners. I found these fascinating. I got more into it and eventually attended the Small Press Exposition (SPX) in Maryland where I came in contact with an event tailored to independent publishers, comic book makers and creators. I walked away inspired and wanted to create a ‘zine’ of my own that showcased my artwork. I designed a booklet using Canva, Procreate and Artivive. In this booklet I showcased my digital and multimedia art. I used an augmented reality (AR) active lens to bridge animations to the static images. Using your phone, the physical book now had a digital layer that transformed it into a multimedia communication tool. This tethered the art to a world beyond the page. As a proof-of-concept this project got me thinking of more ways that I could link across space and time and ping-pong between the physical and digital worlds to create a truly multimedia story.
Gallery
Links
Artivive
Small Press Expo
https://www.smallpressexpo.com/
Key Takeaways, Skills and Lessons Learned
Storytelling, Self-publishing, Printing, Printmaking, Scannography, Digital Design, Digital Experiences, Worldbuilding, Canva™, Artivive™, Marketing, Augmented Reality (AR), Multimedia Experiences, Communication, Community Building,
02: Designer Fonts / Languages / Glyphs
Description
As I would build out fictional worlds and develop visual languages within my art, I felt the desire to create a more practical and communicable sense of these abstract representations or glyphs. The proof-of-concept here was to go from semiotics in my physical art to utilitarian languages that could be applied to my digital art 1:1 or as close as possible. Or adapted into the artwork of others. Tethered to a language, like English or other, these abstract glyphs could then be referenced back to a root expression. For example saying something like “I love you!” and flipping it into Ghost Bunny lingo. See below. The reader/viewer then connects with the type within the context of my art and their language at the same time. I found this incredibly fun and addicting. I eventually figured out how to package the fonts and then published them on my website to be downloaded and used by other artists. My intent was to collaborate over space and time to build out this multimedia fictional world. I was heavily influenced by the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. By virtue of interacting with the media of the world you add to the lore of the characters and symbols represented. 'Observing the system, changes the system' type stuff. This further transports my characters and art into cyberspace from their original physical forms. I thought this was incredibly fun.I think it was around this time as well that I was discovering artists who were using words and glyphs to ‘paint’ images. This gave me the idea of using typesetting and the QWERTY keyboard like one would use a paintbrush or other art tool. This inspired other fonts and the exploration of how I could create more tools to easier facilitate creation in non-traditional ways. This had the added benefit of giving me another tool for my tool belt in regards to building multi-layered multimedia experiences for my audience.
Gallery
Links
Ghost Bunny Font
https://www.stevesartandcacti.com/product/ghost-bunny_v1-font-type
First Contact Font
https://www.stevesartandcacti.com/product/1st-contact-font-type
Bonsai Tree Font
https://www.stevesartandcacti.com/product/bonsai-test
Adapted Project: Matrix Rain Tutorial from Otodojo
https://youtu.be/AQ3ToV6-Zrw?si=fAFOreJJUFaS0T8h
Key Takeaways, Skills and Lessons Learned
Typography, Glyph Design, Text Experiences, Coding, Typesetting, Marketing, Software Creation, Digital Asset creation, End User License Agreements, Worldbuilding, Communication, Visual Arts, Visual Communication, Encryption, Cryptology, Coding, Codex, Semiotics, Digital Text Encoding, Pixel Art, Crowdsourcing, Collaboration, Touchdesigner, Python Scripting.
03: Ghost Bunny: Character Concept, Sketching to Art Toy and More…
Description
Ghost Bunny, the character, was born out of an original sketch that popped out of my brain and came out on paper. Ghost Bunny was one of 6 original characters created at the same time, titled The Unusual Suspects, and of the same vein. I started writing character attributes and back stories for each of the characters, slowly building a world and connecting them within the same universe. After I had words on paper I continued to represent the characters as recurring themes in my physical and digital artwork. In a way categorizing the intent of the pieces through the lens of each character. Concurrently I was taking classes at my local makerspace regarding 3D modeling and design and getting better. A contact I made at the makerspace happened to be a toy designer themselves and inspired me to try my hand at it. From that point forward I decided to challenge myself to complete a journey from Sketch to an independently designed in-hand art product. The tentative goal was to create a collectible series for the toy and release them to the public, along with media, graphic design and supporting artwork to prop up the world I created around the character. In total I set out to create 275 individual art toys, along with packaging, certificates of authenticity and traceable infrastructure to enhance the credibility and collectability of the product. This project was meant to be a proof-of-concept, so once I refined my process, I could apply it to the myriad of other characters and worlds I have created. Thus going from idea to art product, completing the lifecycle.
Gallery
Links
Ghost Bunny Wiki
https://www.stevesartandcacti.com/ghost-bunny
Ghost Bunny Art Toy
https://www.stevesartandcacti.com/product/ghost-bunny-figure_v1
Key Takeaways, Skills and Lessons Learned
3D Modeling, 3D Rendering, 3D Printing, Mold-Making, Silicon Casting, Graphic Design, Materials Science, Printing, Printmaking, Marketing, Package Design, Package Economics, Advertising, Storytelling and World Building.
04: Exhibit and Worldbuilding: Songs for Orpheus
Description
In 2024 I had the amazing opportunity to participate in the Artomatic arts and culture festival that ran from March to April in downtown Washington D.C. It was an incredible event that had everything from art to music, to marketplaces and cultural activities. It was awesome. I made a lot of connections there and grew as an artist. It was my first time preparing, installing and exhibiting my artwork. I created 9 original pieces in preparation for the event, with additional artworks being created during live in-room paintings on the different artist night events. I interacted with tons of people and learned more about how my perspective as an artist could differ from the perspective of the viewer. During my time in the space I transformed it subtly to reflect activity in the world that I created. Ghost bunny, a character that existed within this universe, had escaped and was taking over in different ways. I wrote character lore that I would share within the space and through artworks on social media to connect back to the exhibit. It was really fun to create a multimedia experience that fed into the Orpheus in the Underworld mythology universe. The exhibit itself was a reimagining of the myth and a reinterpretation of what it means to look back and reflect. Please follow the links below to learn more.
Gallery
Links
Artomatic
https://www.artomatic.org/2024-about/
Matterport 3D Virtual Reality Experience
https://discover.matterport.com/space/fuHqgMYTKTA
Interactive Spotify Playlist
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7ynywg0hkJSZ6FrSUmUPaB?si=H9EQa6HCSo6Ei71XQx-uOA&pi=qN5GOzqFQ9qP4
Past Exhibits
https://www.stevesartandcacti.com/past-exhibits
Key Takeaways, Skills and Lessons Learned:
Budgeting, Materials Selection, Mixed Media Art Installation, Marketing, Collaboration, Arts Communication,Visual Arts, Performance Art, Event Promotion, Sales, Event Organization, 3D Imaging, Virtual Reality, Photography, Music, Multimedia Experience Creation, Audience Feedback, Digital Experiences.
05: Snapchat Lens Filter Designing
Description
In 2024 as I was gaining skills in digital experience creation, I tried my hand at creating a Snapchat lens filter. The intended goal was to create a lens filter that tied into one of the fictional universes I had created in my mixed media art. In this example it was kind of like a Ghost Bunny-O-Vision type of thing. Or kind of like seeing the world through the eyes of one of my characters. It was an incredible experience. To date over 200k people have interacted with the lens. An incredible number! SNAP, META and Apple ARKIT are incredible tools to create multimedia experiences. This experiment allowed me to gain exposure to each of the platforms, what they offered and how I could utilize them in my art projects. I hope to learn more about these tools and utilize them further in my worldbuilding projects.
Gallery
Links
SNAP Lens Filter: Trippy Sat Swirls
Key Takeaways, Skills and Lessons Learned
Augmented reality (AR), Extended Reality (XR), Virtual Reality (VR), Digital Experiences, Worldbuilding, User Experience (UX), User Interfaces (UI), 3D Modeling, 3D Rendering, 3D Motion Capture, Audio/Visual FX, SNAP™, Metaverse™, Apple ARkit™, Digital Communication, Character Design, Visual Storytelling.
06: Education Development Programs: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM)
Description
In the fall of 2024 I had the amazing opportunity to partner with Dopefocus Art Gallery and the Chrysalis Development Group (CDG) for their STEAM event titled: Spooky Mad Science Expo. The event connected many different industry partners in government, technology and art spaces. It was focused on K-12 youth and had exhibits and demonstrations focused around STEAM education and development. In my role I oversaw a demonstration of Extended Reality (XR) in artwork. My first demo was a mixed media artwork that was Augmented Reality (AR) active by using the Artivive app on iOS and Android. I created a mixed media artwork that utilized projection mapping by throwing an animation overlaid on top of a physical artwork to make static material come alive. Lastly, I demonstrated the concept of holography (hologram creation) by teaching the kids how to create a ‘pepper’s ghost’ illusion. The kids loved it and it taught me a lot about the value of arts communication and how it could inspire learning. I’ve since worked to build on that partnership with CDG and others to expand what I can offer to educators and non-profits seeking to build STEAM events and curriculum.
Gallery
Links
Dope Focus Art Gallery
Chrysalis Development Group
Spooky Mad Science Expo 2025
https://chrysalisdg.org/spooky-mad-science-expo/
Artivive
Pepper’s Ghost Illusion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB4kup3oKY0
Key Takeaways, Skills and Lessons Learned
Arts Education, Arts Communication, Holography, Augmented Reality (AR), Extended Reality (XR), Virtual Reality (VR), Partnerships, Public Relations, STEAM, Teaching, Art Instruction, Projection Mapping, Illusions, Visual Art, Digital Experiences, Community Building.