As an artist, I found my love of objects at an early age. I was always drawing diagrams on napkins and discussing how things were made, like my father and grandfather. They owned and operated a display manufacturing business, so I was around design and material process from the beginning. My entrepreneurial career began around the age of seven, when I asked my dad to help me cut out some wood shapes on a small jigsaw, added color and sold them on the driveway. I was hooked.
After a year playing college football and throwing javelin in Indiana, I honed my art skills, especially metal fabrication and casting, finishing with a BFA in sculpture at the University of Kansas. During art school my brother Brian and I designed and made alternative clothing for the skate crowd. My wife and I began selling visual merchandising products to retailers, eventually garnering major clients all over the world. We also started HAVA studios to collaborate on creative projects which led to unique and very high end work. Many times I was providing the design and project management and not having the time to work on the making. I have had to carve out time to make art and also collaborated with my wife on award winning public art as the collective, White Art Studio.
A few years ago, after chain saw carving a large 8' sculpture out of a huge spalted maple log. The wood cut away was so beautiful, so I carved my wife small piece and hung it on a silver chain. She received many comments and requests about the "wearable sculpture" pendant and I started making them for family and friends, and eventually galleries. Because spalting is a natural process; like a fingerprint, there are no two alike. I expanded the hand carvings to earrings and rings, and then started making other objects including small freestanding sculptures and charcuterie/cheese serving boards, while filling custom requests for fine art, furniture and lighting as well as interior design.
My work is driven by my love of shape and form. I tend to be minimal in design. I work with whatever material is the best for the project but have an affinity for wood and metal. I also work in stone, acrylic, glass, epoxy resin, foam, and many other unique materials. I take commissions while also producing my original designs. My fine artwork if not shown is available upon request. I am grateful for the opportunities I have had to work with bespoke commissions, museums, galleries, art collectors and dealers, fortune 500 companies, boutique and high end chain hotels, fashion, luxury and couture brands, architects, interior designers, government agencies, the military, FBI, and more. The work has been shipped to 5 of the seven continents.
