Stepping away from the known into the unknown, new ideas for expansion are able to take hold. For Ethan, this moment occurred following a heightened immersion in Seoul, Korea while hiking the Arakurayama Summit in Japan; creative implementation was to be pursued above all else, which led to OO.

Metalworking, specifically with sterling silver wearables, became the initial medium pursued.  It holds limitless possibilities, is fast to ideate, and small in scale which enables a vast collection without much material burden. Setting out to learn silver smithing from a teacher in East Williamsburg Brooklyn, concepts, and ideas of what could be accomplished motivated what is now a growing forty-five-piece jewelry collection alongside a slow journey to scale larger into furniture, sculpture, and a more wholly encompassing art practice.

Finding space away from the existing construct of society has been and still is an ongoing practice. Ethan conceptualizes all new work cerebrally, which usually occurs when surroundings and mental space are still and free.  

The medium of metal has taken a strong hold in my practice with its diversity in aesthetics and its capacity of permanence while still remaining ecologically circular.  The feeling of being able to take a piece of gray, dull metal and transforming it by bringing it to a high polish or sculpting it from one form to another is incomparably satisfying.  

The final product of my work is the outcome of spontaneous cerebral thought followed by implementation to manifest physically in the best way possible. The process remains a constant reminder that we are in control of the reality in which we reside and thought followed by action will bring result.