​Ryan received his Bachelor of Arts in Art Education from University of Wisconsin La Crosse in 2019. After UW-Lacrosse Ryan decided he wanted to learn more about the expansive art world, he decided it was time to expand his knowledge of his craft and was graciously accepted into UW-Milwaukee’s Graduate program as an MFA Candidate. Ryan works as a Graduate Project Assistant for the Jewelry & Metals and Sculpture/Ceramics areas. He maintains, develops, cleans, and organizes each studio space for efficient and safe use.  Along with being a PA, Ryan has been a teaching assistant for several summer workshops and semesterly courses.
It was at UW-Milwaukee where Ryan began to develop a more in-depth and well-grounded appreciation for Blacksmithing. It was in his second year where he understood exactly why he had a proclivity for using Blacksmithing to manipulate steel. For Ryan, it is an expression of power and sheer force of will. Bending, stretching, and moving such a rigorous material, in this way, gives him satisfaction and domination over medium. This fact led Ryan to further develop his control and mastery over his medium, creating small organic forms, and then finally developing his most recent work, Uncanny Thoughts. This work was fortunate enough to receive several awards at the Makers!22 exhibition, firstly, a Windgate University Fellowship at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, and secondly, but certainly not least, 1st place Harold A. Milbrath Memorial Jewelry & Metalsmithing award.
​In his third and final year at UW-Milwaukee Ryan has continued exploring portals and is currently working on his thesis work. Ryan’s latest exploration has led him to experiment with forcing specific conditions on each organism when leaving the void. In this latest work, each organism must obey the laws of gravity. 

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