I am originally from Troy, Ohio.  After graduating from Ohio University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Architectural Engineering I served two years in the Air Force stationed in Japan and Mississippi.  I was an Associate in three different architectural firms in Dayton doing both residential and commercial work.  For ten years I was the Chief Building Official for the City of Kettering, Ohio.

I have always been interested in the arts.  I am a tactile person who likes the hands-on experience with whatever material I am using.  I became involved with fiber arts, coiling baskets with hand-spun wool and silk.  This allowed me to explore three-dimensional forms while experimenting with color, texture and surface design.

When I retired from the active practice of architecture I took pottery courses at the Rosewood Arts Centre in Kettering.  I did wheel-thrown pottery for several years before I started hand-building.  I found hand-building offered many more opportunities for creativity and experimentation.  I first did functional boxes, wall pieces and vases.  The break-through to larger abstract work came in 1997.

My hand-built clay structures are strongly influenced by my training as an architect.  I think three-dimensionally.  Each piece is analyzed and constructed in my mind before my hands touch the clay.  There still is spontaneity during the construction and in the glazing.  There are many similarities between architecture and my approach to clay.  I am concerned with proportion, the intersection of adjacent planes, and the effect of light and shadow on the form.  The enclosed interior space, even though it is not fully seen and is not accessible is of importance to me as is the space around the form.  Like architecture, the sequence of construction and structural integrity are critical.  Unlike architecture, color possibilities and effects are unlimited.  I often work in series, exploring the many variations of an idea.

On the personal level, I like the sense of adventure and growth that accompanies the problem-solving and aesthetic challenges of art.  New ideas continually push me in new directions.  The process of creation is what invigorates me.  I consider a work to be successful if it can provoke a serious thought, provide a chuckle or just give a moment of enjoyment.

My late wife Peg was a retired elementary school teacher who was also an artist, pianist and organist.  We celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary in 2011.  We both were charter members of the Dayton Chamber Chorale and I currently sing with the Epiphany Chorale.  We have two sons and four grandchildren.  We liked to travel and have visited many art museums, historic sites and architectural locations in the United States and Europe.