Woodcarving Shoppe     Contact     Studio

I grew up in Hopwood, Pennsylvania, a small town in the southwestern corner of the state, and consider myself fortunate to have lived most of my life in the Appalachian Mountains.

As a boy scout I received my first merit badge, woodcarving and was thus introduced to the craft that would one day become my livelihood.

My career as a sculptor began while I was a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, when I began carving and selling wooden spoons. In 1982, I abandoned a science career to follow the life of a craftsman, moving back east the following year.

An early interest in American folk carving characterized my work for the first decade and it was mostly of a traditional style and generally realistic. Over the next fifteen years my work evolved through many styles and subjects to its present contemporary form.

It is now characterized by simple flowing lines with the beauty of the wood an integral part of each composition.

In 1999, I moved to Waynesville, North Carolina and opened Hardwood Gallery. Hardwood Gallery was open for eight years and during this time, I broadened my repertoire and began carving more monumental pieces.

Hardwood Gallery was closed at the end of 2007, and shortly after, I purchased a house and a small building located near Marshall, North Carolina. Over the course of several years, I converted the building into a workshop and gallery. The Woodcarving Shoppe opened on May 12, 2011.

I named the property Studio on Walnut Creek and divide my time here between woodcarving and gardening.

To have a great capital is not so necessary as to know how to manage a small one and never to be without a little. It is not large funds that are wanted, but a constant supply, like a small stream that never dies.

William Cooper, A Guide in the Wilderness,1810

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life. You should mind your own business and work with your hands, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

Thessalonians 4:11-12

Solitude is independence. It had been my wish and with the years I had attained it. It was cold. Oh, cold enough! But it was also still, wonderfully still and vast like the cold stillness of space in which the stars revolve.

Hermann Hesse, Steppenwolf

When the sun rises, I go to work;
When the sun goes down, I take my rest;
I dig the well from which I drink,
I farm the soil that yields my food.
I share creation, Kings can do no more.

Chinese Proverb, 2500 B.C.E.

When we know how to be at peace, we find that art is a wonderful way to share our peacefulness.

Thich Nhat Hanh