building loving worlds through loving words + art
Meet the Creator
Hi, I’m JC
Poet
Visual Artist
Cartographer of the Unseen
Mentor + Adventure Guide
Certified Aging Teaching Artist
Agent of Beauty, Perception, Insight + Discovery
I created The Poartry Project to light a path of good in the world through the practice of “poartry”. It is my calling and goal that The Poartry Project and its Voicing Art programs and experiences contribute to building loving worlds through loving words and art by fostering, evoking and celebrating the potential in all lives; cultivating wise interpretation and discernment; nurturing courteous communication as civil world citizens; and building bridges of understanding, wonder and discovery of the magic of our great adventure together across the universe through the power and energy of language expressed as poetry, spoken word and art.
My Story: Early Beginnings
Ivy League-educated at Brown and Harvard in International Relations, Diplomatic History, International Environmental Policy and Art History, I started making art and poetry as early as I can remember. Moved by the beauty of the natural world and the kaleidoscopic diversity of cultures, I have always identified as a world citizen seeking to connect the dots and share the realities of what unifies us as one humanity and as stewards of species, societies and systems.
Travel + Transitions
In my curiosity and wish to build bridges of understanding, I started traveling as early as I could, visiting and living in 23 countries and experiencing every state in the US except Alaska (so far). With one foot in international relations and another in the arts, I got my (somewhat) conventional professional start helping to illuminate, address and solve world needs as a futurist and expert on the use of the Internet in healthcare in the capacities of writer, consultant, speaker, magazine editor and media resource. After meeting all of my professional goals by the age of 27, the gift of a ski accident sent my life and quest in another direction at the pivotal moment when I realized while walking on a beach in San Francisco post-surgery to rehabilitate my knee that as a lifelong poet, I had completely forgotten the word, “joy”.
Searching
For a decade thereafter, I sought wisdom, unifying universal truths and the nobility of humanity’s sense of the sacred for deeper insight and spiritual understanding beyond the intellect from many sources around the world. What I found reoriented me from solitary achievement to collaborative service, and I helped build international organizations dedicated to wisdom leadership; traveled and taught in English, Spanish and French in many countries, including Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Mexico, Italy, England, Slovenia and India; and advised leaders in business, politics, NGOs, culture and the arts to share what I learned.
Service
But my heart always remained in youthful play, outdoor adventure, nature, creating and storytelling, and I now focus on experiencing, sparking and sharing the beauty, potential and meaning in all lives and our shared natural world as a poet, artist, “cartographer of the unseen”, poetry and art adventure guide and founder of The Poartry Project to build loving worlds through loving words and art and Golden Threads of Good Books for children and the young-at-heart to light a path of good in the world by revealing and sharing the golden threads of good that run throughout the history of human culture, exploration and invention – uniting us all.
It is my great honor to be serving as the current Youth Chair of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies and as the current Director of Youth Activities for the New Mexico State Poetry Society.
Where My Poetry Has Appeared
Voicing Art: Poetry of Space | Place | Time (book)
Upcoming: 2023 Friendswood Ekphrastic Anthology
Fixed and Free Quarterly: September 2022 Edition
The Sailors Review: September 2022 Edition
PoemTown 2022 Anthology
Poems Around Town 2022 Anthology
PoemTown 2021 Anthology
Poems Around Town 2021 Anthology
1,000 Pieces of Peace Anthology
The Providence LOFT Anthology
PoemCity Montpelier 2021 and 2022
PoemTown Randolph 2021 and 2022
Poems Around Town Brattleboro 2021 and 2022
The Burlington Writers Workshop Poem Trail
Burlington Art Hop
Words & Art
Women in Literary & Visual Arts
United Nations Association of Houston
Houston Citizenship Month 2011
Houston Citizenship Week 2010
Where My Art Has Appeared
Upcoming: PLEASE TOUCH! Exploring the Art & Feel of The Seen & The Unseen (solo exhibit)
January-February 2023 | Pierson Library
PLEASE TOUCH! Exploring the Art & Feel of The Seen & The Unseen (solo exhibit)
Aug 2022 | Kellogg-Hubbard Library
6″ x 6″ (group exhibit)
Sep-Oct 2022 | Swallow Art Gallery
Art of the Extraordinary & the Ordinary (group exhibit) July-Aug 2022 | Swallow Art Gallery
Art in the Time of Covid (group exhibit)
Jun-Jul 2021 | Grand Isle Art Works
Art of Resilience (group exhibit)
Sep-Nov 2021 | White River Craft Center
Inspiring Hope, (Re)imaged (group exhibit)
Earth Day 2020 | White River Craft Center
Betz Gallery
Houston, Texas
Museum of Printing History
Houston, Texas
Yuan Fen New Media Gallery
Shanghai, China