Both
of my parents sculpted in wood and as a child I spent many
hours in my dad's studio learning the
use of tools and developing the love for different grain patterns,
colors, and textures each type of wood possesses.
Looking at a piece of raw wood is like reading a chapter in
the life and history that that particular tree had lived.
About fifteen years
ago I decided to make my living using my skills and passion
for wood. With a lifetime of education and experience in the
arts, wood working, and design, I obtained the large variety
of tools needed to open my own shop.
I
am dedicated to designing furniture
from the point of view of the user, with an eye for clean
lines, exposed joinery, using woods that compliment and bring
out the character.
To
the best of my ability, I try not to let limitation of tools,
materials or technique dictate my design and often combine
glass and metal to complement the wood. Each individual piece
is a new and creative experience for me.
Our
love of music brought me to making reproductions of
Baroque and Renaissance flutes and
recorders. These instruments require a very high level
of machining and tooling. It is the lathe work of these
fine instruments that caused me to become more interested
in woodturning art.
There is no
greater feeling than holding a piece which has that
"right delicate balance", that looks so simple
and so obvious, yet for some reason takes years to get
right.
For a number
of years now, I've been turning almost exclusively hollow
forms, and hollow vessels. Hollowing the form through
a very small opening, and achieving a unified wall thickness
of about 1/8" (3 mm), mostly using tools that I
have developed and made.
Today, I continue
to design and build custom furniture.
As the woodturning grows, I
keep developing tooling to achieve the results I'm after.
My home and shop
are in Ojai, California which is a rural and inspiring setting
surrounded by mountains, trees, and music.
Today, with the
help of my ex-wife, we continue to home-school our kids and
provide the best environment for them to be challenged,
explore and promote growth.
Continuing in my family tradition of learning "wood
as a second language", they enjoy the time in their dad's
shop.
I
was born in May, 1958 in the big