Reckless Poet

about the artist

Ephraim Jesse Risho is one of the few people on this planet born in Missoula, Montana, a place where Birkenstocks are perhaps the highest per capita in the world. At eighteen he went to Vermont (lots of Birks there too) to go to school, and there learned things like not to eat tin cans on a bet, it IS possible to drive a friend's car off the road on a snowy day, and that certain friends from Hong Kong and India may perhaps get so addicted to computer games as to play them on MY computer till 5am, whether or not I am asleep next to them (thanks, Ivan and Vikas!).

After graduating in May 1996, he hooked up a hitch to his '88 Ford Tempo and towed all his belongings across the USA, overheating in Cleveland, the Great Divide, and Death Valley. Having broken down in all the right places, he did manage to make it to his final destination, Vancouver, BC in Canada.

Now, I'm not sure if you've been to Vancouver, but it's a lovely place, and he immediately got hooked. He did decide to live in Taiwan for awhile, but things like stinky tofu, near-death scooter experiences, and getting sick from tasty but treacherous icy treats had less appeal than you may think, so Vancouver is where he has ended up spending most of his adult life.

He got his MDiv at Regent College, and led various youth for many years, eventually coming on staff with Young Life in West Vancouver, where he garnered teens to make movies on Saturdays and learned how to waterski and blue-flame (if you don't know, you may be better off!). In 2001, he went to work at UBC with InterVarsity, and took students to Mexico and a First Nations reserve as a cross-cultural, broadening kind of experience. In-between it all, he did graphic design freelance work, and worked for Regent Bookstore doing book covers, ads, and the like. After working as the Director of Marketing and Design for an industrial supply company in North Vancouver, he decided to open his own company, Exit 360 Design™. You can get to the company website here, but since it began only in February 2006, it may or may not be complete at the time of your clicking.  

Besides the obvious passions (poetry, music, photography, writing), Ephraim loves his food. His dad is a gourmet chef of the Meditteranean variety, and ran a world-class restaurant in Missoula for years called Perugia Old World Cooking. Eph's brothers Sam and Abe are both into the restaurant business. In other words, it's a miracle he's as skinny as he is!!! 

He's got an orange cat, a couple thousand books, a gas stove and a sore back. He's been loving soccer every Sunday afternoon with friends at Grandview Calvary Baptist Church, and he's now a big fan of sailing! Living in Vancouver's mild rainy climate has wimpified him to the point where he feels cold even when his brothers say it's nice out. He gets mocked for this. You are allowed to feel sorry for him now.  

He hopes that one day, when he grows up, he can be a part of a study centre for deeper spiritual learning. He is currently involved in two different communities focused on Spiritual Formation and Direction, and mentors a number of young adults in town. He hopes that all his entire life will be a blessing to God and others, and that he will truly be God's instrument in this life. That said, be nice to him when he falls short! ;)