use art to make invisible systems visible—helping visual learners, especially neurodiverse minds, understand science through story.
You decide who will appear in Artforum Magazine, take home $25,000, and display their work at The Art of Elysium's Salon!
I create visual storytelling art that blends science, education, and imagination. My work often centers on Root-opolis—a living, story-driven world inspired by soil microbiology, plant systems, and ecological relationships. Through characters, illustrations, and narrative, I translate complex scientific processes into something visual, emotional, and accessible. As an educator working with neurodiverse learners, I’ve seen how powerful visual frameworks can be.
Where do you find inspiration?inspiration in both the microscopic and the human experience. The hidden world of soil, microbes, and plant communication is endlessly fascinating to me—these systems are complex, intelligent, and often invisible to the naked eye. At the same time, I’m inspired by the learners I’ve worked with over the years, especially neurodiverse students who experience and interpret the world in unique ways. Their need for visual, meaningful, and emotionally connected learning has deeply influenced me.
What would you do with $25,000?Publish and share. Create a visual line of story of the soil’s key players to teach children of all ages the importance of our microbial ecosystem and how we treat and protect the soil impacts our health and life on this plant. Pay my son to work on the animation version of my story and drawings.
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