Jim Lasher.

I’ve been interested in mythology and religion for as long as I can recall. Early on I was fascinated by the Greek and Roman stories as well as those of the Judeo-Christian cosmology. In addition to the written word, I was drawn to the imagery I discovered initially in my mom’s art history books. During undergrad school I studied abroad in Rome where I saw firsthand thousands of years of evolving iconography and loved how it wove together to form the fabric of Western civilization. Later when I moved to Northern Japan, I became interested the stories and imagery of the East. I stumbled upon the writings of Lafcadio Hearn and later I found the art and writings of Toriyama Sekien, Hokusai, Utagawa Kuniyoshi and Mizuki Shigeru. Through these sources I was introduced to yokai (preternatural creatures/beings) and bake-mono (things that change) and have since drawn/painted my interpretations hundreds of times of which the pieces shown here are a small selection.

I have an M.F.A. in painting from Towson and a B.F.A., also in painting from Tyler School of Art. Currently I work on campus running Design + Graphic Services and more recently teaching in MCOM.