I have been working in wood since middle school. I have attended many workshops and classes but much of what I do is self-taught. I most enjoy experimenting with a variety of styles of embellishment for the platters and bowls I turn on my lathe. Pyrography, carving, painting with iridescent and metallic paints, these all keep me interested and challenged. Sometimes the figure in a piece of wood is so dramatic I chose to concentrate on form and leave the wood unadorned. I often use maple when I have a painting project in mind because of its fine surface texture. I purchase my wood from a small sawmill in New Hampshire where tress are harvested because they need to cleared for one reason or another. Some of work is functional, such as the candle holders, and some purely decorative, such as many of the platters.