Who is Plasso?

Plasso – Ancient Greek translated to mould or create.

Call me Dave. I am an artist in the Piedmont of North Carolina, creating art in a variety of media that has a depth of layered meaning and abundance of emotion. My goal is to balance objectivity and subjectivity, communicating my thought process behind each creation while allowing enough flexibility for the viewer to find a personal connection with the art.

Creating before I could hold a memory, I developed my skills throughout childhood, learning through practice then utilizing arts education in grade school to hone my talent. I graduated from East Carolina University in 2002 with a BFA in wood design, dabbling in a wide array of media and styles in the process. In the years since graduating college, my career path has taken me from a factory floor in a manufacturing facility, the work table in a floral shop, teaching in public schools, to product development and engineering. This wide array of professions shares one common bond; creativity. Now an engineer by day, an artist by night, a visual translator on weekends, and unceasingly a dad and lover of life, creativity remains constant.

Growing up the son of a Christian pastor and church planter, God and the Christian community were a consistent part of my life. I experienced the full spectrum of the church from culture-changing highs to mission-tainting lows. Through the positive and negative, I remained loyal to my roots. I now choose to apply my natural abilities and learned skills to give back to my Creator by positively impacting the world I inhabit. While my mission has never changed, the way it manifests continues to evolve. Progressing from simply being a loyal friend in grade school, then creative expression through music and drama during college, deeper community involvement since graduation. Combining these efforts and related experiences led me back to my roots; creating visual art.

Early in my continuing education courses where I earned NC teaching certification, we discussed learning styles and tactics to connect with students who use each style. Three styles of learning exist: visual – learning by visual example, auditory – learning by verbal instructions, and kinesthetic – learning by doing. Applying this knowledge to my world view and developmental experiences, I found a niche to apply my specific talents.

The church has mastered the art of reaching auditory learners; though it inspires a throaty sigh from me, sermons and music how many define  “church” (find more of my take on that in my blog). We are continuing to increase our ability to reach kinesthetic learners with missions opportunities and community involvement.  Visual learners, however, are very much left out in the cold. Stage design, lighting, colorful graphics and assembling a A/V team are good amenities but they only guide the viewer to the auditory message. To reach people on a visual level, the visual element must communicate the message independently.

This is where I come in, interpreting God’s word and the message of the church visually to reach every learning style within the Body. Every sketch I post is spontaneously created during the live presentation of the message I’m interpreting. As inspiration directs, these conceptual drawings will turn into developed pieces that summarize a series of messages or emphasize a single topic.

Prints and originals are available upon request.