I am a retired carpenter and have always liked working with wood. I started making carved boxes in the mid-eighties, mostly as gifts for family and friends. I was an attack helicopter pilot and spent 18 months in Viet Nam. I started having flashbacks and other PTSD symptoms in the early nineties. I discovered that I was most at peace when I was under a magnifying hood carving.  I used carving as therapy.

As a carver I've said that I would never buy a laser engraver.  Arthritis changed my mind. Now instead of using a knife or other carving tool, I use a computer mouse to create patterns for the laser.  I still make my own key chain blanks and formed pieces from raw wood. Some of the Birdseye, curly and spalted maples I mill by hand. The few music boxes that I do carve now are mostly commission pieces made with exotic woods.

My art has contributed so much to better my life, teaching me patience, compassion, tolerance and lifting my spirits. It makes my day when someone can connect with one of my pieces or when a music box brings back someone’s pleasant memories.