I’ve enrolled back in school, and am currently attending the Art Institute of Philadelphia. After a few years without school, it’s a bit strange to dive back into it. Going back with the knowledge and skill set I have already accumulated puts a new perspective on everything. I now feel as though going to school will be beneficial in ways it couldn’t have had I gone to school sooner.

My aesthetic is changing and I’m prepared to embrace it. Growing as an artist is an apotheotic experience in it’s own right, but when combined with a completely new environment it is a new monster all together. I no longer have access to a pool of friends who were willing to get naked at the drop of a dime. I now have “…and how do you feel about nudity?” conversations with complete strangers to look forward to. I left behind countless locations that I wanted to shoot at, but just never got around to doing. Don’t fret- I’ve already taken sketchy photos in sketchy locations.

Philadelphia is going to be a lot of fun.

If you’re “hip” enough, there’s a good chance you have a Twitter. If not, don’t fret, I rarely have anything important to say. It’s primarily assorted photography tidbits such as my latest work, news, art shows, info on TheObscura.org, other photographers I admire and so forth. Other things tend to slip in every so often, such as observations on the occult, obscure death metal and hip hop references, fun shenanigans, and an occasional inside joke.

The flayed skin from a pig head weighs a lot more than you would think. And it’s slimy. And gross. And fucking awesome. Luckily, I have a good friend who’s all three of those things. I poached holes in the sides, and ran shoe string through them. I originally tried to prop the snout up with half of a small plastic cup, but eventually scrapped that idea.

We shot at night, which is always more fun. Davood Salek (http://davoodsalek.com) was my lighting assistant, and Terry Steel was my model. The bugs were horrendous, but I think Terry suffered the most. Something about raw flesh on his face made him a prime target.

We shot for entirely too long. I think we ended at about 2am or so. Two of the images are on this site, “Pearls Before Swine” and “Pummel Hog.”

Terry and I are both vegetarians. Horrible, horrible vegetarians.

Pummel Hog.

Pummel Hog will be on display in this years Damned show in Detroit on October 29th and 30th. I am especially excited about this show, because Marilyn Manson and HR Giger are featured artists. It’s a good feeling to be in a show with two of the people that influenced me to make violent art in the first place.

http://thatdamnedshow.com

I love trading prints with other photographers. This is a personal favorite from my friend and fellow Obscura contirbutor Mark Luckasavage.

http://markluckasavage.com/
http://theobscura.org/author/capomorra/

This is the photo that got in. I dropped a print off at Jerry’s Artarama to be matted and framed. It’s supposed to be ready Tuesday at 6pm. It needs to be in Detroit by that Friday. It’s going to be close.

I’ve got to work quick, my deadline is October 1st. They’re trying to have them ready in time for Christmas. The cards are supposed to relate to Amanda’s album “Who Killed Amanda Palmer?”

http://whokilledamandapalmer.com/

I’m looking forward to the endeavor. I need to research the tarot as a whole, but particularly the Four of Pentacles. I plan on getting a reading soon, I just need to figure out where.

Silver #877 on 100lbs black card stock. Super sexy stationary.

A special thank you to Norman at Progressive Graphics in Virginia Beach. He took care of me once again. And thank you to Jeff Crag for helping me with the layout. Jeff is also responsible for The Obscura’s logo.




Look at that subtle off-white coloring. The tasteful thickness of it. Oh my God, it even has a watermark! (link)

I put out the word that I needed a last minute model on a few various outlets. I also sent out a slew of text messages, and found the girl I wanted to use. I ran out and bought 68 candles. We rendezvoused at JB’s Gallery of Girls, had a Jack & Coke, discussed details and rode to the location. It’s much harder to make a pentagram out of candles than you would have thought.