I never wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer. I had visions of becoming an architect. And I say “visions” in particular because I knew exactly what I would be wearing, how my office would look, the kind of lighting and colors I would use, and of course, the style of buildings that I would be creating. I saw myself in an Armani suit with the jacket on the back of my chair, white dress shirt with a hidden placket, a pair of bag trousers belted with a slim suede belt in beige, and I would be at a standing desk in a lofted office with skylights overhead, working on sketches of homes that featured sunken living rooms and secret gardens.
That’s how I saw my future when I was in the fifth grade, no exaggeration.
From that you can probably tell my creative sensibilities have always been a bit more cinematic and focused on detail. I wrote my first novel in 7th grade during a NaNoWriMo competition, in which the goal is to write your own 50,000 word novel, start to finish, all in one month. From here my work evolved to short format videos and short stories. I fell in love with the beauty of quiet moments, the little things most people perhaps never notice, but which together create the sublime experiences of life. Simplicity is elegance, and the mundane is so often magical, if we just stop and really look at it.
Narrative has always been at the heart of what I do, and it’s led me down some very interesting paths. I’ve created brand videos for luxury skincare brands, filmed projects in Paris, Los Angeles, Cancun, and New York City, and on a regular basis I now photograph New York’s premier interactive theater experience.
I wouldn’t say I chose to become a creative so much as it’s something that chose me. I just put in the time and effort to make sure it works. And in the end, I think I became an architect, but instead of stone and plaster I create worlds with pictures and prose.