Putting the puzzle together: An interview with an award-winning woodworker

1. How did you get into being a craftsman and creating art from wood?I had a friend her mother wanted me to cut a piece of plywood so she could put puzzles together. I had thought about it and decided I wanted to get her this for Christmas. That’s how it started. I made her a puzzle board out of puzzle pieces so she could put puzzles together on it. I took it from that to another piece of art. I just keep exercising my ability and that’s how it started.  2. What do you use to create your art?I like to use maple, cherry, walnut and oak. I like to cut them close to where I don’t have to use any filler. I like them to fit very tight so it takes time to cut it. I like to get the best wood. I get wood from all over different places. It’s just got a different look to it.  3. When did you start woodworking and creating art?Construction’s been all my life. I’m a third generation. We do have a fourth generation working for Stewart Construction. The art part of it never started until about two years ago. Up until then I was very familiar with woodworking tools. I did hobbies and crafts but never went into any kind of art until the puzzle board.  4. What was it about the puzzle board experience that led you to begin creating art?I had made six of the puzzle boards. Five of those I made them in an art way by making one of them out of solid maple and a separate one out of cherry and so on. I gave those away as Christmas gifts. I kept one for myself that had all four woods in it. I had told people that I gave it to that it symbolized how they came into my life and affected my life and that I’d put that other piece above my mantle and I’d think of them when I looked up and saw it.  5. The word is out on your art. Didn’t you recently gain recognition from a worldwide publication?Well, the contest that I entered was a world publication magazine, “Scroll Saw Magazine.” In the middle of my project that I was doing to compete at Artspace/Lima I had decided to make a sphere, a round ball around 27-inches in diameter that is just part of the overall project. My cousin had bought a magazine and gave it to me that had these puzzle pieces on it because he thought it was something I should see. I read the magazine and saw the contest in there. The ball was about three-quarters done. The deadline for the contest was so close that I really had to work to get it finished to enter the contest. I did. I ended up winning the contest, which put my piece of art and my picture on the front cover of the magazine.  6. You haven’t seen recognition only from “Scroll Saw” magazine. You recently won best in show at Artspace/Lima’s spring show. What does the recognition mean to you?Well, I’m really happy to win. Artspace was gracious. Brett Shingledecker was gracious. I wanted it to be viewed from all sides. He was very gracious. It was a lot of work for a short period of time of glory. It is short-lived.