I have been woodworking all my life. One of the first things I can remember as a very small child is that I was afraid of the noisy table saw that my father ran in his cabinet shop in Tacoma, Washington. My father was a professional cabinet maker, and it seemed only natural that I would enjoy working in his shop, both on my own projects and with him on his jobs. I worked in my father's shop around school times and in the summer till I left home to be a musician. I now am a classical double bass player in the Chicago Symphony.

I have been making furniture and wood bowls since high school, but didn't start making "art" bowls professionally until 1988. I have always enjoyed the improvisatory nature and fast unpredictable outcome of the turning process. There is always a conscious design process in creating bowls, but my best work usually just happens. Pieces of wood that could never be used for furniture building can sometimes yield the most interesting pieces. The contrast of an irregular and earthy piece of wood with smooth regularity of the round turned form can make for beautiful results. Each piece of wood has to be used differently to gain the "best" result.