having prized pocket watches that had colorful stories attached to them. To top it off, my father's friend gave me a wrist watch, I was about 4 or 5 at the time and it became my prized possession. These beginning events, along with support, tools and objects provided by my parents and others, helped to develop artistic and fabrication skills at an early age. I was building with an erector set (remember those?) by age 5, woodworking with my own tools by age 7, doing cartoons and general drawing by age 8, wood carving by age 9, building small pieces of furniture by age 12, my first job in art by age 16 and working full time as an artist by age 18. Looking back, I can't remember not drawing or working with wood.
Training, education and work experience.
I began to think that I might want to be an artist when I was 12 years old, that's when an 8th grade art teacher entered my drawing, done in her class, in an art contest for high school age students. I was very proud of the "gold key award", lapel or tie pin or whatever it was, that I got as an award. I suppose that experience was what later motivated me, at age 15, to get a job at a local silk screen printing company. After a short stint of gluing easels on the back of Old Crown Brewing Co. point-of-purchase counter cards, I coerced my way into the art department as an apprentice layout artist, junior to four other staff artists, who were all very skilled in poster and point-of-purchase design. I continued working as an apprentice artist while going to high school in the morning and working afternoons at the silk screen company. My high school art instructor recom-mended that I continue working in the silk screen company after graduation for the practical experience I was getting, rather than to quit the job and go to art school. I went to work as a full-time artist as soon as I finished high school. By age 21 I had my own silk screen company which I worked for about six years before selling it to another printing company.
In the meantime I took some classes in art and photography at a local art school, which later became part of Indiana University, became a freelance graphic artist in the advertising field producing art and photography, and have won dozens of awards in the field over the years.
Related work and education.
I've always been one to have a lot of interests, probably too many to keep up with, sometimes. Anyway, in the mid 70's because of some family issues, I became interested in psychology and spent six years getting educated and trained in clinical psychology. I worked in that area providing individual and group therapy and consulting with various businesses for a few years before turning back to art and photography.
In the early 80's I bought into an advertising agency and a fiberglass manufacturing company at about the same time. The ad agency was one I had freelanced for in the past and the agency became available when the partners in the agency had a falling-out.
The fiberglass company was the result of buying a small pickup truck to haul wood for the furniture making commissions I had been taking. The pickup needed a cap to cover the bed so I could haul wood and furniture in wet weather. I soon had a new yellow fiberglass truck cap that matched my new yellow pickup truck and an advertising client. The fiberglass company was in chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings and looking for a buyer. I happened to know some investors looking for a business to buy so we bought the company, operated it until a theft of all our raw materials forced us to close the doors while waiting the 10 months it took for the insurance carrier to pay the claim. Soon after, I sold my part of the advertising agency and went back to art and photography to make my living.
The start of boxes and clocks.
About 1986 I made wood boxes as holiday gifts for my art/photography clients, that became the start of my box making. The first boxes were small and were probably used to hold stamps or paper clips. It wasn't long before I had requests to buy some of those small unusual boxes, seemed like everyone liked little boxes. My first multiple sales were at a yearly three-day "Art for Sale" fund raising event conducted by the local art museum.
By then I was subscribing to all the craft magazines to be found and applying to ACC - American Craft Council, to do some shows. After doing a few art/craft shows that resulted in a brisk business in boxes, it was suggested that I start making clocks. This seemed to be a natural since I had collected dozens of old clocks and watches since my fascination with that wrist watch all those years ago. That was in about 1991 or 1992. So, I've been designing and crafting boxes for 20 years, clocks for 14 years.
Finally the end to all these ramblings.
I like to think that all of the experiences that I've been rambling on about are important to the appreciation of my work. I look at my varied experiences as the fuel for my creativity.