About Me

My name is Chris Buchholz. I am an Elder and a Regular Pioneer serving in the Clearview Congregation in Hanover, Pennsylvania. I am fluent in both English and Spanish. My wife Heydi is originally from the Dominican Republic, and she has been a regular pioneer for 16 years. I also have a nearly 4 month old adorable son named Hezekiah. My wife and I met when I was serving where the need was greater in the Dominican Republic. We were married there in the DR and lived there together for about a year before we moved here to the United States.

Before I served in the DR, I worked for 9 years at a production company in Harrisburg called JPL Productions, now called JPL Creative. There I focused on illustration, graphic design, and animation, but my projects included logo design, storyboarding, web interface design, game design, live events stage design, and sometimes I was even used to build props that were used for commercials or live events. The animation projects that I worked on were all flash-based animations (something which I imagine is all but non-existent), and I never got into any 3-D animation at all. I am profficient In Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, though I will be honest in saying that my knowlede is for now limited to Illustrator version 10 and Adobe Photoshop version 6. I recently subscribed to the creative suite on my home computer, but I can't seem to break away from my old familiar versions of Photoshop and Illustrator.

I enjoy using traditional media to create artwork as well. I love to create artwork in blank sketchbooks especially while on vacation or in an unfamiliar place. I find that there is no substitute for drawing from direct observation, and I have filled many sketchbooks with drawing and paintings of memorable sights, scenes, and people. I like to use pen and ink, watercolor, and colored pencil in my sketchbooks, and occasionally I have used gouache, acrylic, and even oil paints in my books. I have dabbled in Acrylic painting, oil painting, sewing, sculpture, and wood carving.

After I moved back from the Dominican Republic my wife and I worked for a short time doing floor cleaning for a brother in our hall. In time though, I was able to leave that job in order to pursue freelance art jobs. My wife and I live modestly in an apartment built on to my parent's house. We have kept our lives simple and focused with the goal of continuing to serve Jehovah full-time as regular pioneers. My work schedule can vary, but I would estimate that I work usually between 15-20 hours per week. I sell printed artwork through Etsy and I have a couple loyal freelance clients who give me work to do. My wife and I also clean windows for libraries on an average of once or twice a month.

Now with the added responsibilites of being new parents it is unlikely that we will both be able to continue regular pioneering. Most likely my wife will continue pioneering while I spend more time at home taking care of our little one while she can get a couple of long days in the ministry. Even so I would like to continue to spend at least 20 hours in the ministry each month with my wife and son as I would like him to be well-accustomed to the ministry so that he too can "taste and see that Jehovah is good."