We are a collection of our influences, shaped by our passions, interests, and experiences. My background in EdTech has given me a career that I love and a way to stimulate my intellectually curious mind. However, as a multi-dimensional individual, my perspective on life and my work has also been expanded by art, travel, and literature. My parents afforded me ample opportunities to experience the ‘
arts’ from a very early age, such as trips to Europe, museums, theater, and live classical music. While I have always been an active enthusiast of the arts and had found photography to be a medium to tap into my creative energy, I had not considered myself an artist. However, when the pandemic emerged, life spun many of us in new directions, and I dove headfirst into exploring my creative, artistic side. My eclectic interests were finally given room to breathe during the pandemic and they eventually evolved into a growing collection of photography and digital fine art. My passion for the intersection of technology and education fuels my creativity, as I seek ways to utilize my various strengths in service to these fields. My artistic expression is influenced by complexity theory, systems thinking, psychology, physics, science, astronomy, and the humanities. I consider myself an ardent fan of all things cognitive, a voracious reader, a passionate traveler, an EdTech maven, and a budding photographer and digital artist. My art compositions span a variety of genres including, abstract, conceptual, and surreal. My photography transcends a variety of styles, including architectural, landscape, nature, black-and-white, street, abstract and surreal. Lundquist College of Business at the University of Oregon. I live in Rochester, New York with my wife, a 3rd-grade teacher, and our 12-year-old daughter. Robert Merlo
IG: @CognitiveBliss
