I have been a Type 1 diabetic for 36 years, and the idea of medically themed artwork has allowed me to explore the psychological impact that living with the symptoms of a disease can create. I graduated with a BFA in Photography and a Minor in Printmaking from Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. During my final year of college, I began using diabetes as my topic for creation. Simultaniously, I worked as a caregiver for Alzheimer’s patients, amputees and cancer patients. I also worked as a mounter, printer and digital retoucher which helped me to sharpen my technical abilities. Ultimately, focusing on healthcare issues in my physical work and my personal life, influenced the artwork I continue to create.
After relocating to Chicago in 2001, I worked at another digital production company but other artistic prospects were more appealing. Though I never stopped making art, it was time to be creative full time. Eidolon Art Studio, in Rogers Park, was created in 2005, managed by me and my partner. As an artist collective, Eidolon provided workspace for six local artists, as well as a community darkroom, potter’s wheel, kiln firing services, and a variety of classes taught by resident artists. Eidolon closed in 2008 when I moved to the Pilsen neighborhood. Health care issues remained a priority, and I joined the board of directors of the Mookie Jam Foundation, a Chicago-based non-profit that offers assistance to artists with multiple sclerosis.
All of these personal experiences, surrounding healthcare and artistic expression, have lead me to narrow my focus and cultivate specific skills as a photographer/artist over time. Through my work, I hope to stimulate a public dialogue on health care. It is one of the most important modern issues, and I am a witness to the dramatic impact that serious illness has on people’s lives.
  Managing disease requires symmetry between emotional, mental and physical response. The images in my artwork offer a public narrative on chronic illness, including the bureaucratic decisions that shape public health care policy. They reflect the incredible gains we have made through medical research as well as the devastating pitfalls we face when policy fails us. I am documenting the damage that failed health care policy causes when coupled with personal financial hardship.
The tools I use to create my art are the same tools I rely upon to remain healthy: insulin bottles, syringes, test strips, bar codes, glucose tablets. I combine them with photography and drawing, and the final pieces become what I call Diabetica. Diabetica relies on paneling and image repetition to express routine, or the normalcy of managing illness in daily life. I utilize installation as a method of displaying my pieces to create a public narrative about diabetes and other illnesses.
Through personal documentation I hope to create understanding on a more universal level. I hope that my artwork becomes part of a meaningful and productive national dialogue on health. Toward this goal, I am seeking new forums to exhibit my work in 2010 and 2011, particularly given the national scope of the health care debate.
I am also the owner of Fenyx Framing, a discount custom picture framing service located in the heart of the Pilsen neighborhood. We offer reasonable framing rates, and alternatives to standard framing services. In the future, I hope to be able to give back to my community thru donations from Fenyx Framing to community art related programs.