Well….here we go!

Standing on Hemingway’s balcony in Key West looking out over the island.

For most of my life, my father ran his own business. He recently retired in his early 70s, but still has trouble sitting still (unless there is brandy involved and a good western on TV). This was one of many curses he passed on to me, as I have also found it extremely hard to sit still at any point in my life. I am a scientist by training and trade, specifically an evolutionary ecologist. No matter how far I have roamed, I could never escape nature or the forests of my youth, and I am still haunted by the trees. I welcome such a haunting, though. I am happy with my chosen vocation, but there has always been a part of me that wishes I had pursued art harder. I have put my artwork on the back burner for my “real” career for years, and now, as I look 50 in the face, I will be damned if I do any longer. I am as much an artist as a scientist and I truly have always been. When I have felt things deeply, I have always turned to art and creativity to express those feelings. As most people have discovered, feelings do not always translate well into words…but they make great art. For me, depression translates to poetry, anxiety to working with my hands at the lathe, love into making something for special people in my life, and anger always gives me a reason to swing an axe or a hammer. I feel with my heart and my hands and I hope this comes through in the things I create.

So….this is the first blog post on the Shop Diary. Take a look at all of the interesting wooden projects I have been working on (buy something!), peruse my videos, and I promise some poetry and prose will show up sooner rather than later. I have opened up this can of worms….there is no stopping me now! Bookmark the page and come back as much as you like!