Art and creativity have been a defining characteristic of my life since childhood. I was born a child of a sharecropper in Henry County, Tennessee. My father was a man of invention by necessity. Though I was not a very good student of his creativity, I received a moderate proportion of his genes.

Early in my elementary years, I was introduced to classical music and while in high school, I decided that would be my life. Another interest also caught my attention. I was introduced to the order and form of the earth and the cosmos. Two very sensitive teachers literally dangled the art of form in nature and creation before me. Through the years that interest has grown.

I studied religious education in college and graduate school. These studies undergirded my interest in art of form and creation with a deep appreciation for theology and especially aesthetics.

Professionally, I spent forty years as a minister and educator in the Church. During that time, my interest in art drove me to my shop which was my place of refuge and creativity. Over the years this interest grew to encompass me. I worked toward retirement as a time when I could give my spirit and soul to that which I deeply loved.

At our retirement, my wife, Jo, and I moved to the Ozarks to be close to fine craft artisans and the creative life. I chaired the statewide Arkansas Craft Guild through which I was introduced to the world of craft artists. Out of that work and because of my professional education experience, I was named the Founding Director of the Arkansas Craft School which offers classes in wood, glass, fiber, photography, clay and ceramics, and metal. The School is partnered with Ozarka College and offers a joint Associate of Arts in Fine Craft and Management.

As our medical needs increased, it became necessary for us to return to the Memphis area to be close to better medical facilities and especially to be close to our children.

Upon our return, I joined the Mid-South Woodturners Guild and the Memphis Association of Craft Artists (MACA), both of which continue to push me to grow as a wood turner and artist.