Since I was a young child old enough to hold a crayon, I created art. I never had any formal art training but whether I was working in oils, stained glass, or textiles, I was always creating.
While teaching high school foreign languages, I came across a newly carved piece of folk art in the mid 1980s and thought, "I can do that". I left teaching behind in 1990 and never looked back. Since then, I've created over 8000 carvings. The rest, as they say, is history.
The carvings you'll see in my web gallery are all original. Each is carved individually, one at a time, by me, without the use of power tools. My "wood of choice" is cedar, but I'll also use wood that I find and appeals to me...oak, cherry, apple, black walnut, and others. Cracks and knotholes natural to the wood are always incorporated into the finished carving.
I use wood chisels, X-acto knives, hammers and larger molding chisels for oak and other hardwood pieces. When I'm satisfied with my carving, I hand paint, sand, and finish the piece. If I feel a holiday carving needs a snowy, icy glow, I'll use either antique mica or imported German glass glitter to finish the carving. I've also used vintage German lametta tinsel to highlight a Santa's cloak.
With beauty and inspiration all around me, I especially enjoy vintage Christmas and Halloween postcards and ephemera for inspiration.