Art, Graphic Design

In the winter of 1999, I moved back to New Mexico. Art was still as always a part of my life, but life's necessities left me unable to practice my art as often as I wished. For a time, I worked numerous jobs, unrelated to art...unless you count that brief stint where I painted faux finishes on Southwestern styled Ceramic Wall Sconces at a "Sweat Shop" in Belen, New Mexico. After that job I went on to do numerous labor jobs, but as soon as the opportunity presented it self (Spring of 2001) I enrolled in Graphic Design School. As college was nearing it's end, I started gaining more momentum, doing more and more freelance work, and within two weeks of my graduation I positioned myself as a Production Artist with an award-winning Newspaper/Media Publishing company in Valencia County, New Mexico. Since my leather venture had been called "Dominion Graphics," I figured keeping a cohesive theme and name for ALL of my ventures would be a good idea. My ventures are my "Dominion," since I operate, manage, and maintain ALL facets of these enterprises.

Thus Dominion Graphics was born somewhere around 2003 I still surmounted freelance work, mostly print and pro bono work in the political arena. In September of 2006, I embarked on something which was in my plans for years: Vinyl Signage. I purchased a vinyl plotter, and taught myself how to draw, cut and install vinyl decals, signs, etc. As always, I made myself my own test pilot, slapping vinyl decals on my vehicles, learning what worked and what didn't. I was so enthralled with drawing and vectorizing my artwork to be made into vinyl applications, that I spent about a year and a half compiling my own clipart library, which will licensed and sold as a CD for other Sign Shop Operators. Today I still continue on with vinyl signage, Graphic Design, and fine arts, all of which have remained a way of life for me.

Leathercraft:

I first started out doing leatherwork around 1996 when I was in High School, in Anchorage, Alaska. I was in a punk band then, and was always making wrist cuffs and putting spikes in everything. By my Junior Year I could be found wearing a leather jacket with over a hundred spikes in it! I could scarcely afford the tools or materials, but Leathercraft continued to be another art form that I lusted over.

After moving back to my native New Mexico in 1999, I still aspired to do more leather work, and after bouncing around with various jobs, I ended up working for a large Leather Retailer/Wholesaler Company when I started College. I thoroughly enjoyed my work, and was hands down the best Sales/Customer Service person on the floor. While working for this company that I was able to expand my knowledge base, and afford more tools and materials-allowing me to refine my skills. I was able to learn things from people like world renowned Saddle Maker, Billie Wootres, and Paul Brinegar, of Diablo Canyon Leather. I talk often with Pat Tenorio, a tribal dignitary of the Santo Domingo Pueblo, and a Master Moccaisin Maker, who taught me about the "hidden stitch." I was a regular at the Roadrunner Leather Artisan's Guild of New Mexico. Even though I met master leather craftsman, I also met with a diverse customer base consisting of; bikers, upholsterers, saddle makers, interior designers, Franciscan Monks, Elvis Impersonators, Santa Clause Impersonators, Native Americans, Fetishists, Rodeo Queens, Bull Riders, Horse Jockeys, SCA Reenactors, Star Trek fanatics, Star Wars Fanatics, Inmates, Veterans, and many more.

I gained a lot of knowledge in this field over the years, and had been working a lot of my own projects.At some point, in the "Goth-Industrial" community, and within that scene was where I began making "fetish wear." It was at that point in 2001 that I launched "The Fetish Faction," and became a vendor at fetish shows. As a vendor/merchant, I was the only Leather Crafter who offered on-the-spot custom fitting and adjustments. Around that time, I maintained a small clientele of local Dominatrixes and Exotic Dancers, making more things for the "Fetish Community." People were always astounded at how though I made things for the Fetish Community I was never a practitioner of that lifestyle.

It was at around this time, that I changed the name of my leather enterprise to Dominion Leather, to better suit the niche market I was catering to. I got into a consignment deal with a man named Tom Waters, who owned a "Goth/Punk/Metal" boutique called "Folly." Tom was very reasonable, and became a good friend. He was very appreciative of my work, as I came in with duffel bag after duffel bag full of products. This was in stark contrast to his other consignment deals where the artist would come in with one or two pieces, which seldom sold because that artist wanted more than most people's budgets could accommodate for. I'm not knocking the work of those artists, they did excellent work and focused on their pieces. But at the time, I was a factory, cranking out piece after affordable piece.

Like many things, Folly closed down, and I later began falling astray of making fetish products, and began making conceptual art pieces-including masks, and sculptural works. Everything I made was an experimental prototype. I had fun making these, and also began making more utilitarian items; cases, holsters, knife sheaths, etc. I didn't stop there, I began making my own "tactical gear" and riggings - both for small electronics and outdoor gear. In 2003, after buying my Branding Iron I decided to keep the Dominion Leather name. I could then burn my brand name into my product.

My time spent in the Leathercraft industry has been rewarding, useful, practical, and very interesting. I will never give it up!

Audio Arts...

I, like so many others have always loved music. By the time I was fifteen, I had saved up and bought my first electric guitar. I had no idea what I was doing with it, just trying to make "coherent noise," I suppose. Upon realising I wasn't progressing much, I aspired to start a punk band, which I later did when collaborating with a really good high school friend, named Travis.

We had no transportation of our own then, so we would "telejam," wherein he played guitar over the phone while I hummed vocals over the phone. I was seldom as concerned with lyrics as I was with Vocal Progression. We eventually evolved into a band, and I was the "front man." We played gigs around town and at an internationally know all ages club called Gig's Music Theater on 4th avenue, in Anchorage Alaska.

During a Battle of the Bands competition, I was spotted with my on-stage antics by a Talent Scout visiting from Southern California. He sat me down after our show to explain to me that wanted to sign me to a hardcore record label which he and his brother owned. I had to decline, because I explained that I wouldn't go anywhere without guitarist, Travis. He even upped the ante by saying they would sign him too in order for me to join them. We thought it over, and when we were opting toward "yes," it was realised we were still in High School. We weren't able to sign.

Later our band, now named "Short Fuse," got a steadier line up, with one of our roadies, Steve taking Bass Guitar since our original Bassist took up drums. This was awesome, since we had previously gone through nine different drummers, and because Steve, a talented musician wanted in the band, and we wanted him in the band. We finally had a way to do this. After having a more permanent line up, we began to have decent jam sessions, and went on to record a demo in a studio owned by then band "Liquid Courage." These guys lived together, and in their house basement had a recording studio.

They recorded us in the fall of 1999 to a DAT format. We were coming together well, even I had taken up guitar and drums. It was in our plans to leave Alaska, and reconvene in Arizona, where our guitarist would go to Recording School and some of us would go on to Graphic Design School, all of us maintaining the band, and assuming our own Record Label.

Things have their way of not quite transpiring that way when in a band. Different people ALWAYS have different agendas or circumstances that befall them. In February of 1999, my Bassist and I took a plane to my native New Mexico, where we ended up staying, instead of meeting up with our guitarist in Arizona. Meanwhile, our Drummer hadn't left Alaska. I believe he's in Seattle or Portland now, where many Alaskan transplants end up. In short, our band fell apart. But my Bassist Steve and I still collaborated; leaving Punk/Hardcore, and evolving into Industrial, Electronic music. Our guitarist had a very divergent view on this and our artistic visions were no longer the same.

My Bassist and I made an honest try, after buying a drum machine, and our guitars were shipped to us in New Mexico. Still, finances, circumstances, et cetera, befell us and my good friend Steve had to move to Florida to help his retired Grandparents. Musically, I was lost with little to collaborate with. He and I had very similar artistic aspirations.

From then on, I would jam occasionally with other people, like when my cousin Jeff, a very adept guitarist moved back to Albuquerque from Sacramento. By then, I'd purchased a Korg ER1 Drum Machine. I bought it after selling my beater Grand Am on the street, for the exact price as the drum machine. The buyer of that car was beffuddled and asked, "two hundred and seventy-nine dollars, why that exact price?" He was even more bewildered when I told him it was for a Drum Machine. My cousin and I had a lot of fun in our jam sessions, though we never really laid anything down. At that point I had been into a very abstract free form, electronic noise jam style. We would just improvise and see what stuck. My cousin later went on back to Sacramento, for monetary reasons.

later, my then best friend and I went on to try to jam, but nothing transpired, and he wasn't at all artistic or talented. It sounded like we were trying to "out-noise" each other. He was more concerned with trying to learn "Country Road" from the demo on his cheap Wal Mart keyboard. I was more concerned with Industrial, EBM, Synthpop, and all things electronic in music form. My friend Tom Waters, who owned a store I sold leather goods out of had given me a loop-based music program, and for sometime, because I wasn't well acquainted with computers I wasn't able to use it until recently. It was then that began the project Ballistic Motorcade, my current solo project. This project is entirely in the making and will be a finished product through-and-through. Be sure to check the website routinely, to get updates on this project.