I make my wood turned bowls from native hardwoods from the local area. I prefer bark-edge pieces as opposed to symmetrical ones. My ornaments are made of native wood and exotic woods from around the world. Even while I am cutting the wood, I see something in the natural beauty that dictates to me what should be made from that piece.

Biography

I was born in 1942 on a tobacco farm in Eastern North Carolina, where I and my eight siblings had little time for hobbies like woodworking. After a stint in the Army, I settled into a job in West Virginia. I met my wife Susie and we married and had 2 children and soon afterward bought the house we still live in today on the outskirts of Huntington. The property included a house and a barn. The barn would soon become my woodworking shop as I tackled projects for the house with very few tools. This led to a hobby with woodworking. After 30 years with the Postal Service, I retired to begin lathe turning work full time.

In 2006 I was accepted as an artist at Tamarack. In the wood-turning division Tamarack features my wooden bowls which are lathe-turned from native hardwoods, as well as Christmas ornaments.

My instruction includes a short woodturning class at Cedar Lakes in Ripley where I was introduced to lathe turning and found a niche with the craft. In 2012, I was privileged to take a class in advanced turning at Arrowmont School of the Arts in Gatlinburg, TN through a grant awarded by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History.

Other Creative Skills

Woodworking