Corrales Society of Artists

“I derive my aesthetic from nature’s small wonders – flowers, leaves, fruit, the occasional vegetable, and the female form. These shapes inspire me to create pieces that are wrapped in sumptuous curves and graceful movement.

As an artist, I love to work with solid wood as it possesses intrinsic value, virility, and a rapidity of execution. During the initial design process, the grain and beauty of the wood have little influence on me. I tend to visualize new work in matte black and believe that a piece that has a presence draped in black and executed with deftness and passion will allow the inner beauty of the wood to take flight.

I build much of my work using the stack lamination process, where smaller pieces of wood are glued together to form larger blocks or “blanks”. This process provides strength, scale, and endless artistic possibilities. Once the blank is completed, I rough out the work with chainsaws and automobile disk grinders. As the final form emerges, I taper to more delicate power tools and hand tools to define the details and refine the curves.

I have done commissions for the Bank of Hong Kong, Occidental Petroleum, Byer Intermark, Jenner & Block, synagogues, and churches, plus numerous other corporate and private collections. My work is also in permanent museum collections, including the Mint Museum, Marietta Museum, Rockford Museum of Art, and others.

My passion for woodworking began in junior high school industrial arts, where I learned various techniques. I had my first commission, a blanket chest, while I was a high school senior. At college, I had the privilege of studying under Bobby Falwell, a graduate student of Wendell Castle. After graduating, I opened my first shop in Evanston, Illinois, and eventually moved to Albuquerque, NM, where I continue to build sculpture and furniture.”