New Artist Website

I'm photographer, artist, and designer Don Orkoskey and I'm happy to welcome you to my new artist website at Orkoskey.com. I've hosted this website for over 10 years and it's long showcased my artistic and design work but I've decided to rededicate myself to exploring systems and how they impact us and our world. This is a personal and artistic practice. It's long informed who I am as an artist, photographer, and designer but I'm trying to formalize what I've learned and dig deeper.

I've updated all the pages on the site. I've not removed any blog posts but this is the first new one that I'm written here for some time. I've been blogging more regularly over on my professional photography website at WDOphoto.com please give my commercial photography site a view especially if you need any event photography, portraits, or other commercial photography in or around Pittsburgh.

New Direction

I'm moving in a new direction as an artist. I'm still primarily doing photography but since the start of the Covid Pandemic I've reexamined how I live, how systems affect me, and how they shape our world. I've become more invested in understanding systems that are designed by the wealthy and powerful to benefit them and that harm others, intentionally or otherwise. I've long been interested in the fate of our planet but I've realized just how little individuals can do to save it in the face of massive opposition from the wealthy and powerful.

This new direction involves a direct look at the way that I'm impacted by systems of my own making, conscious or otherwise as well as how I can work to design better systems for myself that are more resilient, that are kinder, that are energy positive or at least energy neutral, and that tax my brain and body less.

I was diagnosed with ADHD in 2021 at the age of 42. I'm very interested in how the systems built around neurotypical behavior and the expectations of neurotypical brains impacts my life and the life of others with ADHD and other neurobehavioral diagnoses. I'm curious about just how typical the neurotypical brain is and why it's alignment with capitalist and consumer values is such a tight fit. I'm interested in discovering how my brain and others with neurodivergent brains fit, if there is a social or economic model that we function best in.

New Artist

In a way I feel like a whole new artist. I've been exploring systems in my art work for a long time but the things that I'm learning are new and the art that I want to create is new. I want to explore nature in ways that have not been explored. I want to see how natural patterns factor into natural systems. I want to understand how natural systems are not only sustainable but regenerative. These desires are not all new but how I'm seeing these things is new. As an artist I want to explore how man-made systems are harming the planet and the inhabitants of it. I want to understand how the colonial mindset still believes we can act as if we will never run out of limited resources.

New Art

In 2021 I began to create a lot of new art. Much of that art was focused on the natural world. A lot of it featured plants and animals. In 2022 and beyond I want to take that to a new level. I want to explore the systems that those plants and animals live in. I also want to explore the systems that men create that threatens them. I want to find new ways of showing others how vital it is that we act, that we change what those in power are doing. I want to inspire people to take the power back from these people.

New Website

I created this new website, well, I updated my website to be more accurate to reflect what I'm doing and thinking about now. It still needs a lot of my historic work uploaded to it and it needs some work on the portfolio section to lay it out better but for now I'm looking more towards the future so it's a bit of challenge, as fun as it is, to dig up the past in order to feature it here. Still I do plan to do some more of that. I've done a lot and I want to show off the things that I have done. The new website will showcase my art work new and old and I really hope that you enjoy it.

I would love to answer any questions that you have about my new artist website. Please use the contact page to reach out. I would love to talk with other artist about collaboration. I truly believe that working together is inspirational and beneficial. I love partnering with other artists no matter their discipline. If you care about the things I do and are interested in making new art please drop me a message.