2017: I was renting space inside an art collective in LES. The work inside the art collective was giving me momentum I didn’t expect. Being around artists nonstop helped me see the world in clear eyes. The space was welcoming to all and their ideas. Everyone had 24/7 access to this space in LES so you’d show up at 2am and find artists making work, some sleeping, or a group of artists bouncing between a talk about the parallels of art and conspiracy theories. Sometimes it was intellectual, sometimes it was pure stupidity. It was all love and It was a home. It wasn’t one of these branded spaces “for artists” that was basically a corny social club for posers, it was a true collective with DIY artists getting in to their crafts, side by side. . It was the most real, raw, and an honest space with no BS or judgement. The only hard rule: no glitter. They taught me new techniques and opened me to ideas about art I didn’t have before. They broke down my concepts of culture and art and showed me the guts of people trying to make it in the arts outside the commercial system. Everyone had their own reason for being an artist but art united us all. We had weekly contests and gatherings to bring artists together. It was everything for someone who was creative and wanted community. By now you can see how important community has always been to my work - this was pure gas to me. I was frustrated with photo reps by then so I brought in someone from the collective to act as an in-house producer/studio manager. She was new to the role and I was new to working with someone in this capacity so it was a bit of a challenge. But it was help and it pushed the needle forward. We got work together and she was able to handle all the details so I could focus on photography. Another good friend helped me land the biggest job of my life rebranding an American Eagle for Christmas. I used some of the money from the job and went to Mexico, then to visit another good friend in Ecuador to do ayahuasca ceremonies on the beach. I was feeling better than ever. It was a truly great year (There’s a lot more to this year but IG only has so much space!)