Day-Storms Studio

The biggest influence in my life right now isn’t a single artist, teacher, or moment—it’s my family, and in particular, my role as a father.

Fatherhood has fundamentally shaped how I think about creativity, time, and intention. I try to be very deliberate about spending quality time with each of my sons—Spider-Man*, Bonecrusher, and A-Bomb. Not just time in the same room, but time that’s present, engaged, and responsive to who each of them is as an individual. Each of them has their own interests, strengths, and ways of expressing creativity, and being attentive to that has quietly reshaped how I approach my own work.

For example, each son has their own distinctive style, taste, and interest. Spider-Man loves science, and we do experiments (often on the dining room table). Bonecrusher is the artist, and we have taken parent-child art classes together. A-Bomb is only two, so his interest are trucks, dinosaurs, trucks, Lucas the Spider, and more trucks.

Their influence shows up not only in what I make, but in why I make it. Creating has become less about output and more about process, curiosity, and exploration—values I hope to model for my kids.

One recent example was participating in the Great American Teach-In, where I volunteered to visit each of my sons’ classrooms and lead a gel printing demonstration for their classmates. It was a simple project, but a meaningful one: hands-on, accessible, and rooted in experimentation rather than perfection. The students enjoyed it, and my sons were so happy. (I’ve included a short video of the classroom project.)

Moments like that reinforce how deeply fatherhood influences my studio practice. Creativity isn’t something I step into apart from family life—it’s something woven through it, shared, demonstrated, and passed along.