At 1:32am on Friday August 26, 1994, I was born Kenneth Ryan Stewart at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey. After spending the first four years of my life in Cranford, New Jersey, my parents' relationship with the northern weather cooled. Less than a year after my sister was born, we relocated to sunny-when-it's-not-stormy Tampa, Florida. I suspect my Brooklyn-born father was done well by the change of scenery, and my Filipino-born mother was eager to return to a tropical climate as well.
I lived a "typical" American childhood; I played soccer my entire youth, took piano lessons at my parents' behest, drew pictures and played board games with friends at the afterschool program. I fondly recall sitting in the backseat of a minivan as my family drove up the California coast, taking turns choosing CDs to play next. Having just seen School of Rock, rock stardom was naturally my aspiration. Funny, then, to think how I hated piano lessons. Funnier to think how I threw away a choir application letter we were given to take home in fifth grade. Funniest of all is how large a part of my life choir and music played; I was a devoted choirboy from ages 11 to 20, winning several awards and singing in multiple Florida All-State, school, and community choirs.
Despite my musical roots, TV and movies were my best friends as a child. Not that I didn't have friends - I had plenty - rather that I was never discontent lying on the floor for hours watching Rugrats or Friends reruns. At 6 years old, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was my first exposure to UK accents or culture. I quickly donned a British lilt of my own and continued building my familiarity with the Wizarding World, which would become the precursor for my high school Anglophilia. I soon became an expert at detecting British dialects, aided by the works of Danny Boyle and Ken Loach. A friend suggested 1997 cult classic Trainspotting, and I continued binging my way through acclaimed British films and TV 'programmes'. (Little did I know how critical Trainspotting would be in 10 years' time, when I'd meet my wife who was born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland where the film is set.)
During the spring break of my freshman year of college, I stumbled across the teen drama series Skins. Though not necessarily the most groundbreaking feat in television history, what impressed me about the show was how articulately they conveyed tone and emotion through an artful mastery of song selection. I dove deeper into the duties and necessary experience for marrying music with film or television, becoming consumed with blending my two early loves in life.
Outside of my halfhearted attempts at YouTube fame, I had never seriously considered pursuing video production. Though my love of film inspired me enough to apply to film school, I ultimately followed a short-term impulse. I enrolled at the University of Florida in exchange for an iPhone from my parents, as I'd previously had a basic flip phone. But I now thank 17 year-old Kenny every day for wanting an iPhone so badly; if I hadn't, I wouldn't have been a founding member of ChomPics Productions - which continues the tradition of student-led media production at the University of Florida to this day. Through exposure to a variety of local artists, musicians, and filmmakers comprising the rich tapestry of culture that is Gainesville, Florida, I began to experiment with art forms of all sorts; liberating myself from formal expectations and confines of tradition in expressing myself. I place a strong value in novelty - constantly doing and seeing things I haven't done or seen before, experiencing all that life has to offer and documenting it in whatever manner I see fit.
From my understanding, creative expression is self-explanatory. I've developed a passion for allowing my imagination to determine how I go about making things, practically and emotionally. I take great pride in what I see as my raw creativity manifest; I don't make anything in hopes that it will be understood simply or without consideration - I'm often been told that my poetry is cryptic, which I fully understand. However, I hope this encourages anyone comes across my work to share their reaction with me, as I truly believe we as people most desire connections with one another. I believe that where everyday language fails, creative expression picks up the slack in communicating more than a jumble of words alone.
If you've read this much, thank you. I hope you enjoy my work, because I certainly enjoy making it.
I lived a "typical" American childhood; I played soccer my entire youth, took piano lessons at my parents' behest, drew pictures and played board games with friends at the afterschool program. I fondly recall sitting in the backseat of a minivan as my family drove up the California coast, taking turns choosing CDs to play next. Having just seen School of Rock, rock stardom was naturally my aspiration. Funny, then, to think how I hated piano lessons. Funnier to think how I threw away a choir application letter we were given to take home in fifth grade. Funniest of all is how large a part of my life choir and music played; I was a devoted choirboy from ages 11 to 20, winning several awards and singing in multiple Florida All-State, school, and community choirs.
Despite my musical roots, TV and movies were my best friends as a child. Not that I didn't have friends - I had plenty - rather that I was never discontent lying on the floor for hours watching Rugrats or Friends reruns. At 6 years old, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was my first exposure to UK accents or culture. I quickly donned a British lilt of my own and continued building my familiarity with the Wizarding World, which would become the precursor for my high school Anglophilia. I soon became an expert at detecting British dialects, aided by the works of Danny Boyle and Ken Loach. A friend suggested 1997 cult classic Trainspotting, and I continued binging my way through acclaimed British films and TV 'programmes'. (Little did I know how critical Trainspotting would be in 10 years' time, when I'd meet my wife who was born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland where the film is set.)
During the spring break of my freshman year of college, I stumbled across the teen drama series Skins. Though not necessarily the most groundbreaking feat in television history, what impressed me about the show was how articulately they conveyed tone and emotion through an artful mastery of song selection. I dove deeper into the duties and necessary experience for marrying music with film or television, becoming consumed with blending my two early loves in life.
Outside of my halfhearted attempts at YouTube fame, I had never seriously considered pursuing video production. Though my love of film inspired me enough to apply to film school, I ultimately followed a short-term impulse. I enrolled at the University of Florida in exchange for an iPhone from my parents, as I'd previously had a basic flip phone. But I now thank 17 year-old Kenny every day for wanting an iPhone so badly; if I hadn't, I wouldn't have been a founding member of ChomPics Productions - which continues the tradition of student-led media production at the University of Florida to this day. Through exposure to a variety of local artists, musicians, and filmmakers comprising the rich tapestry of culture that is Gainesville, Florida, I began to experiment with art forms of all sorts; liberating myself from formal expectations and confines of tradition in expressing myself. I place a strong value in novelty - constantly doing and seeing things I haven't done or seen before, experiencing all that life has to offer and documenting it in whatever manner I see fit.
From my understanding, creative expression is self-explanatory. I've developed a passion for allowing my imagination to determine how I go about making things, practically and emotionally. I take great pride in what I see as my raw creativity manifest; I don't make anything in hopes that it will be understood simply or without consideration - I'm often been told that my poetry is cryptic, which I fully understand. However, I hope this encourages anyone comes across my work to share their reaction with me, as I truly believe we as people most desire connections with one another. I believe that where everyday language fails, creative expression picks up the slack in communicating more than a jumble of words alone.
If you've read this much, thank you. I hope you enjoy my work, because I certainly enjoy making it.
-
K.S.