I was born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1972 and attended high school there. I focused my studies mainly in studio art and art history as the subjects were my AP (advanced placement) courses because I always gravitated towards creative endeavors early in life. After high school, I attended and graduated from the University of South Florida (Tampa) in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in art with my focus or concentration being film photography and ceramics. While enrolled, I studied ceramic art under notable ceramics professors and artists, Charles Fager and Ed Ross, who introduced me to slip casting, hand building techniques and a host of other things along the way.
After graduation, I returned to Jacksonville where I interned with the William Cook Agency as a graphic designer. Upon its conclusion, I began my professional career working for a handful of publishing companies and eventually opened my own small business in Jacksonville Beach as a graphic designer, photographer and artist. During this time I was creating and selling my own artwork through local art events and interior design galleries in Jacksonville.
In 2003, I moved to Savannah, Georgia to attend graduate school at the Savannah College of Art and Design in the Department of Film and Television. My graduate thesis film was very well received, won several school filmmaking awards and it traveled around the country screening at various film festivals and a few internationals. Upon graduation in 2008, I moved to Los Angeles, California to work on a short lived television show as the sole production artist and graphic designer.
When the show was not renewed for another season, I entered into the world of L.A. camera rental house operations as a marketing/rental agent with three different rental houses from 2010-2016. This experience was exciting and rewarding but it was not fulfilling my artistic needs.
In 2016, at the dawn of the commercial licensed drone operator era, I obtained my FAA Part 107 operator’s license to fly unmanned aerial systems for commercial purposes. I still maintain this license to this day. From 2016 to 2019 I worked as an independent contractor working on various television commercials and live events in and around the Los Angeles area. Between 2020 and 2023, I contracted with two companies, one based out of Camarillo, CA and the other based out of Baltimore, Maryland to operate drones for utility infrastructure inspections across Southern California as a remote pilot and later as a field supervisor. Interestingly, both companies closed their doors and after which I moved from Burbank to the San Luis Obispo area to work full-time for a domestic drone manufacturer as a post-repair (RMA) pilot, technical and customer support agent.
Throughout all this time, I continued to work on my art and and grow as an artist although I was not engaged in this full-time despite selling significant works, both paintings and ceramics, internationally and domestically. In 2024, I committed to artistic pursuits and a return to my true passion in ceramics and fine art. I purchased my first kiln, a L&L e18T-3 electric kiln. This was a game changer as this afforded me the freedom to finish my work independently without the expense and constraints imposed by local pottery businesses who charge extravagant sums to use theirs.
My renewed commitment and return to creativity can be witnessed in the pieces offered for sale here on this website which I personally operate and maintain. So please bookmark this site and shop!
In the summer of 2025, a family friend showed me a literal pile of vintage slip cast molds in an old, dilapidated building in a small rural Wyoming town. I selected a few interesting molds and returned to California with them. I am using these to create new, modern pieces using custom slip cast clay bodies and formulated glazes made from their raw materials. I measure and mix all of my ceramic slip and glazes with guidance from the wealth of knowledge found in my extensive reference library as well as from online resources. Always learning, always growing as an artist is my mantra. I hope you enjoy the work, make a purchase and feel free to reach out if you have any questions about the work or the processes.
Thank you visiting the site and take care!
~ Rhyan
