Exhibiting Artist

While generally using traditional wood joinery techniques, I have added shoji panel design and construction in my furniture and wall art. Shoji are designed and used to divide, conceal, protect, or enhance an area in the home, office or patio. Fixed or moveable, shoji are built for sliding room dividers (interior and exterior), cabinet and furniture doors, freestanding folding screens, valences, light shades and sliding window covers. Typically meaning wooden sliding doors backed by a translucent paper or fabric, shoji consist of a framework and an interior field of small interwoven lattice slats called kumiko. Precisely cut and joined for a woven non-glued assembly, the kumiko provide the strength and sturdiness of the shoji, while the framework provides the basis for the shoji function (hinges, sliding feet, wall hanging structure). I use the kumiko construction process as a palette of shape and image possibilities. Drawing inspiration from nature and music, my goal with every shoji design is to portray an image as simply as possible while maintaining the shoji structural integrity. With this directive of simplicity, I am able to use the least amount of well chosen woods with the greatest amount of impact. Being an outdoor person and avid hiker has shaped my belief that the best use for wood is a tree, yet it is also my choice of material with which to design and build. It is with this reverence for the material that I work toward making the most of this precious resource after it comes to the shop.