Through most of my adult life trees and wood have played a part in what I do. My paternal grandfather started the process by teaching me furniture repair and refinishing at the age of ten. This was not something I enjoyed at the time, but in retrospect, it was the beginning of a lifelong journey learning, exploring, working, and loving wood.
All of the wood I use is indigenous to the United States, in most cases local. In no cases do I use endangered, tropical hardwoods or do I intentionally cut down a tree just to have wood. Much of what I use is brought to my by friends. Because of the “local” nature of my raw material, I know something of the history of every piece of wood I work. In most cases I know where the tree lived, what human beings were or are connected to it, at least something of its life, often far too much about its death, and lastly how old it was when it died.
