My interest in wood working began as a child watching my father work on wood projects in our garage in Napa, California. He started teaching me how to turn wood in my early teens. I went to college in Santa Barbara and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Photographic Art & Science. I then worked 20 plus years as an owner/operator in the photography industry.

 

I moved to the Reno Tahoe area around 1996 and a few years later started my second career as a Deputy Sheriff.  I retired from the Washoe County Sheriff’s office in 2012. At that time, I started doing a little wood working and playing golf. After a few years I realized I was not going to be invited to play on the PGA tour, so I better find something else to do with my spare time.

 

I have a small shop on my property that I call my studio/woodshop that I started spending more time in to hone my skills woodturning. I find my time spent working with my hands making sawdust, wooden bowls & things very therapeutic. I enjoy turning wood that is odd, old or damaged that most people would just burn or throw away. My goal is to accentuate the natural beauty of the wood. When I start turning something I have a design in mind but often due to the nature of wood the design will change. I let the wood tell me what it’s going to be -- sometimes it just wants to be firewood. I like to keep the natural edge/bark if possible but sometimes I will add color into the wood cracks and voids with color epoxy. I put my emotions and feelings into all my work. I’m always trying new techniques to bring out the beauty in the wood.