Who are you?

I'm a "pioneer stock" Mormon who was raised in the LDS church, lapsed during/after college, lived a "secular" life for a decade, and began attending Episcopal services in 2021. In 2023 I was confirmed a member of the Episcopal Church (USA). I am a descendant of Waldensians, Huguenots, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Quakers, and probably others. I live in Nebraska with my wife and our pets and plants. I'm a Millennial, whatever that means, and I work in baking/pastry.

How did you get here?

As I worked out my personal conversion to the Gospel, I started my "spicy Christian meme page": faithful_heretic_memes on Instagram. I had expected to have a small audience of people who know me from elsewhere on the internet, but as I continued posting, I began to amass lots of surprisingly loyal followers (some with lots of fancy letters after their names). We debate, we discuss, we shoot memes at each other, and we challenge and strengthen each other's faith. Eventually I began experimenting with hand-drawn icons as well as memes, and the response was encouraging. Thus, the Faithful Heretic Icons sticker shop was born. I couldn't have done it without my Instagram community.

What are your credentials?

I attended Brigham Young University - Idaho and graduated with a BA in English literature in 2013. I minored in history and also studied music and French. I remain engaged with my fields of study as a hobbyist, but my day job pays the bills.

I am an Episcopal lay minister of the Order of St. Vincent.

What is your art background?

I've been doodling comics, cartoons, and fantasy characters my whole life, and I've always been fascinated by the secret languages of symbols. I begin with pencil and paper and ink pens, and then use Krita to clean up my icons and add colors.