I love story telling. Visual arts are the expressions of our shared human drama through the joining of excellent handcraft and sensitive story craft.
Whether I am telling a story from the native Hawaiian culture of my home, from one of the many cultures that now inhabit Hawaii, from a client’s life experience, or my own personal story, it is the work of finding a focused visual presentation that defines the shapes and materials of a pieces.
The magic of highly figured Koa, the broader palette of the many trees - native or not - now growing here, and all the other woods imported from all over the world help to make Hawaii a joy for the art of woodworking. The sun and wind through verdant slopes, the constant movement of stream and sea, the ever-changing open skies all provide unrivaled inspiration.
Such inspiration needs to be accompanied by an even greater amount of perspiration (to paraphrase Thomas Edison). Woodworking in the long view is not only shop work; it is also planting more trees than I will ever hope to use. The working of felling, milling, stacking, and drying are also parts of the process often better not left to others as their focus may not be the quality and final use of the wood.
My art constantly challenges me physically, mentally, aesthetically, and emotionally. What started as a creative endeavor has grown into a lifestyle I cannot imagine not living.