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

Connect with Me

poartryproject@gmail.com
poartry.org