I have a great love of working with my hands and making things.  This was instilled at a young age by my father who always had a shop full of tools and was working on a project or two.  After the purchase of a home in 1995, I started remodeling, making furniture, and doing general woodworking projects.  A few years later, I caught the turning bug after seeing a demonstration at a local woodworking store.  I became a serious student of woodturning and started attending symposia, reading books and watching videos, attending  demonstrations and classes.  The highlight of this was attending David Ellsworth's School of Woodturning in June 2005.  I have attended the AAW national symposium four times and the Florida Woodturning Symposium three times, and the Turning Southern Style Symposium once.  I teach woodturning classes, served as president of the Artistic Woodturners of Northwest Florida for almost three years.  I have have membership with the American Association of Woodturners, The Woodturning Center, The American Craft Council, The Pensacola Museum of Art, The Mobile Museum of Art, and the Artel Gallery

AWARDS

Third Place Award - "Arts & Design Society of Fort Walton Beach 16th Southeast Regional Juried Fine Arts Exhibition" - Mattie Kelly Arts Center Okaloosa-Walton College, Niceville, FL - May 5 - June 5 2008 - "Moving Targets"

Honorable Mention - "Working Together: Collaborative Efforts" - Artel Gallery, Pensacola, FL - July 3 - August 10, 2007.  for "Untitled" collaboration with Michael Peters

Award of Honor - Pensacola Interstate Fair Fine Arts Exhibition - October 2006 for "Black Pearls, Bleached Dream"

Best of Class - Pensacola Interstate Fair Woodcarving Exhibition - October 2006 for "Magnolia Bowl"

Second Place - Pensacola Interstate Fair Woodcarving Exhibition - October 2006 for "Mulberry Bowl with Serving Utensils" 

Best of Show - Pensacola Interstate Fair Woodcarving Exhibition - October 2005 for "Untitled Magnolia Hollow Form"

Third Place - Pensacola Interstate Fair Woodcarving Exhibition - October 2005 for "Mulberry Spherical Box"

Judges Award - University of West Florida "Festival on the Green" - April 2005

Honorable Mention - Imago Gallery, Pensacola, FL "Boxed In" Juried Show - January 2005 for "Rock on Box"

JURIED SHOWS and EXHIBITIONS

"Turned for Use II" - American Association of Woodturners - June 2008 - "Communion Set"

"Rounding the Four Corners" - American Assoication of Woodturners Gallery, St. Paul, MN - May 8 - August 9 2008 - "Untitled - Pecan Bowl"l

"First City - Pensacola's Premiere Juried Art Show" - Pensacola Artists, Inc. - May 1 - 31, 2008 - Quayside Art Gallery - "Moving Targets 3"

"You Can't Go Wrong with Red" - Artel Gallery, Pensacola, FL - April 15th - May 16th 2008. "Moving Targets 2"

"Arts & Design Society of Fort Walton Beach 16th Southeast Regional Juried Fine Arts Exhibition" - Mattie Kelly Arts Center Okaloosa-Walton College, Niceville, FL - May 5 - June 5 2008 - "Inner Strength", "Moving Targets", and "The Super Destructionator 3000"

"DOA (Definitely Odd Art)" - Artel Gallery, Pensacola, FL - March 4th - April 11th 2008. "The Super Destructionator 3000"

"Working Together: Collaborative Efforts" - Artel Gallery, Pensacola, FL - July 3 - August 10, 2007.  "Looking toward the Sun" collaboration with George McClure, "Untitled" collaboration with Michael Peters

"Turning Green" - American Association of Woodturners June 2007 - "Ornamental Nuisance; Beautifully Ornamental"

"First City - Pensacola's Premiere Juried Art Show" - Pensacola Artists, Inc. - May 10 - June 5, 2007 - Quayside Art Gallery - "Still Life - Table, Bowl, and Vase"

"Arts & Design Society of Fort Walton Beach 15th Southeast Regional Juried Fine Arts Exhibition" - Mattie Kelly Arts Center Okaloosa-Walton College, Niceville, FL - May 13 - June 7, 2007 - "Closing In"

"The Really Really Really Small Show" - Artel Gallery, Pensacola, FL - April 2007 - "Blue Horizon"

"Cinco Banderas" - Artel Gallery, Pensacola, FL - October 2006 - "Inner Strength"

"Black and White Again" - Artel Gallery, Pensacola, FL - August 2006 - "Black Pearls, Bleached Dream"

Members' Juried Exhibition - Pensacola Museum of Art, Pensacola, FL - July 2006 - "Closing In" and "Unfurling"

"Step up to the Plate" - American Association of Woodturners June 2006 - "Impact"

"In the Garden of Good and Evil" - Imago Gallery, Pensacola, FL - March 2005

"Boxed In" - Imago Gallery, Pensacola, FL - January 2005

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Exhibition Catalog - "Turned for Use II" - American Assoication of Woodturners - June 2008

Arts & Culture of Escambia County, Florida 2008 - Honorable Mention for cover photo, p. 78

Exhibition Catalog - "Turning Green" - American Association of Woodturners - June 2007, p. 42 & 60 

Exhibition Catalog - "Step up to the Plate" - American Association of Woodturners June 2006, p. 23

SELECTED DEMONSTRATIONS

"Using Hook Tools" - April 19th, 2008, Artistic Woodturners of Northwest Florida, Pensacola, FL

"All Day Club Demo" - October 13th, 2007, Emerald Coast Woodturners Guild, Freeport, FL

"How to turn a Sphere" - February 21st, 2004, Artistic Woodturners of Northwest Florida, Pensacola FL

"Tips for a Successful Demonstration" - July 17th, 2004, Artistic Woodturners of Northwest Florida, Pensacola, FL

"The Four Axis Ladle" - October 16th, 2004 - Artistic Woodturners of Northwest Florida, Pensacola, FL

"Making a Yo-Yo from scratch without using a kit" - November 20th, 2004 - Artistic Woodturners of Northwest Florida, Pensacola, FL

"Spherical Box" - August 27th, 2005 - Azalea Woodturners, Mobile, AL

"Tips to signing your work" - October 15th, 2005- Artistic Woodturners of Northwest Florida, Pensacola, FL

"Turning a Natural Edge Bowl" - November 19th, 2005 - Artistic Woodturners of Northwest Florida, Pensacola, FL

"Small bowls on the midi lathe" - March 18th, 2006 - Blackwater River Tools, Pensacola, FL

"Fundamentals of using the bowl gouge -Turning a open shaped bowl" - April 15th, 2006 - Artistic Woodturners of Northwest Florida, Pensacola, FL

"Miniature bowls, box, and finger tops" - June 3rd, 2006 - Pensacola Historic Village Open House, Pensacola, FL

Fundamentals of using the bowl gouge - Turning a closed shaped bowl" - June 17th, 2006 - Artistic Woodturners of Northwest Florida, Pensacola, FL