I grew up in a wonderful small town in Northeast Ohio Called New Waterford.
A town of less than 1000 people that had only one traffic light. It was a great place to grow up. The values of hard work and honesty were a way of life.
Upon graduation from high school, I was drafted and served in the Vietnam War. Upon my discharge in 1974 1 returned to Ohio and opened my very first woodshop, The Village Woodshop. In this shop we did everything from building houses to making furniture. The very first contract for the shop was a handshake, the times have really changed since then. In late 1975 I worked with the historic society of Northeast Ohio. Our job was to find, dismantle, and reconstruct original log cabins at historic sites or local parks for use as a museum. As a lead carpenter in charge of dismantle and reconstruction, I became a master at hand tools because it was important that the work was done with the same tools and in the same manner that they were built.
When the work dried up in Ohio in the early 1980's I moved my family and his woodshop to up and coming south Florida. I have been building high end woodwork here in Palm Beach Florida for over 30 years.
I have worked in some of the prestigious areas of south Florida. I have done work for the likes of Cher, Sylvester Stallone, Madonna, and built 4 stores internationally for Versace as well as his residence in Miami before his death.
In the late 2000's south Florida hit a major recession, which gave me an opportunity to develop something new and exciting.
Many years ago I experimented with end grain patterns and or growth rings of a tree. I learned how to expand the end grain look of a piece of wood. I was able to develop a line of abstract artwork where the patterns produced by the growth rings of each piece of wood reoccur continuously to create patterns within patterns. When you look close you can see deeper into the piece of art. These are one of a kind abstracts.
In the process of making the end grain patterns, when an end piece of wood is cut thin enough I discovered that the light shined thru the veins of the wood when cut thin enough. This led me to develop a unique lampshade made out of high end exotic wood. These lamps are one of a kind, there are no duplicates
After making a few abstracts and lamps, I took over 7,500 pieces of scrap wood and created a patch quilt similar to something your grandmother would sew. This incredible piece of art is draped over a stand and appears to be blowing in the wind. I have found a way to put abstract wood into motion. It's a one of a kind talent.
Soon after the quilt, I figured out a way to make a "star" out of end grain exotic wood. That day I began an Olympic style monument that contains 9 different flags with stars on them. These flags are made of solid wood and have the appearance that they are flapping in the wind. All of these pieces of art are 100% real wood and he uses no paint or stains. Amazing concept.
I am one of a handful of wood artists featured in an international wood artist gallery, www.finewoodartists.com
This gallery has a book published every year and my work is featured in that book as well.
