I grew up in Woodville, Ohio, on the banks of the beautiful Portage River.  My art training came from the Saturday morning art classes at the Toledo Museum of Art and from my art and wood shop teachers in middle school.  

After college, I worked at various writing and editing jobs in Ohio and Illinois.  While I was living in Hinsdale, Illinois, I attended a local arts and crafts show where I saw the works of a woodcarver.  This interested me and, within a few weeks, I had acquired the needed tools and supplies and was creating my own woodcarvings.  Over the years, I have won various awards for my carvings including a best-of-show award for my carving of Ohio State Coach John Cooper at the 1997 Sandusky County Fair and Special Merit Awards from the Caricature Carvers of America at the 2008 "Artistry in Wood" show in Dayton, Ohio and at the Woodcarvers' Show and Sale at Sauder Village, Archbold, Ohio, in 2011 and 2018, and Awards of Excellence from the Woodcarvers' Show and Sale at Sauder in 2019 and 2021. Of course, I also continue to paint and draw and have won a number of awards for my two-dimensional efforts.