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  • The artist’s world is often driven by obsessions. Two such obsessions motivate me – the desire to create objects of distinction, and the ongoing search for wood species that are visually engaging, whether they are incredibly rare varieties, or common local hardwoods that have somehow been overlooked.

    Inventing processes and creating new forms have been the focus of my creative life for over 35 years. I began my earliest artistic pursuits as a leathersmith, which in turn lead to the development of a line of inlaid wood belt buckles and other jewelry. My introduction to unusual hardwoods, aided by a membership in the International Wood Collectors Society, resulted in a desire to design and produce boxes and other vessel forms.

    My process involves laminating various hardwood lumber, natural veneers, and dyed veneers into a solid block, or billet. The box-making techniques I use are adaptations of basic band saw box production that have been popularized in the last 50 years. I like to think that I have added a few twists of my own.

    I strive to accentuate the visual elements of color and contrast in my work, while maintaining the integrity of wood as a material. The colors you view on this site, and in all my work, will be 95% natural hardwood colors. You will see only a few dyed veneers, allowing me to broaden the color pallet. The dyed veneers are produced in Europe from thin slices of naturally light species of wood, which are vat-dyed to colors not occurring in natural wood.

    It’s a great joy for me to see folks smile when they discover my work at an art fair or in a gallery. I hope that those who own my work smile often as they use, handle, or simply glimpse the piece in passing, knowing that in that piece resides not only my hours of labor, but the sweat and effort of all the unseen people whose labors have brought those diverse pieces of cellulose into my possession. I love conversations about wood, art, and the role of craftsmanship in enriching the human spirit. Please feel free to communicate through email, or even better, stop by my booth at an art fair.