First, there is the long search for an appropriate piece of wood; not just any wood, but driftwood, wood which withstood Nature’s fury.

There are two types of driftwood – windblown or water washed. The great majority of my creations, buffaloes, eagles, owl, penguins, and whimsical monsters are made from river-washed driftwood

Imagine for a moment, that a tree or a large branch falls into Lake Superior and it is sculpted, altered, smoothed and roughed up as it hits the rocks, lands on shore, swept back into the turbulent waters and begins it journey southeast through the Great Lakes. I harvest it after it arrives at Lake Erie or travels through the mighty Niagara River. A few have taken a giant leap over Niagara Falls, where I then fish them out of Lake Ontario. The soft woods do not travel well, but the hardwoods, the fruit trees, tend to lose their soft cells and an interesting shape emerges. These are my prized catches.

While most people see just an ordinary piece of wood, a dead tree, I already see an animal hibernating within, which I gently coax to life. I do not add anything other than legs and horns to the Buffaloes, all the other animals are on one solid piece of wood. By carefully manipulating it and using only hand tools I begin shaping the dead piece of wood into a vibrant live animal by taking a little bit off here and there until the desired result happens. None of the buffalos or eagles are painted. They are only lightly stained. All the penguins have a black and white coat and the polar bears proudly wear their snow-white coat of paint.

Let me emphasize and reemphasize that there are no two sculptures that are alike. Just like our fingerprints, there are no two dead trees that are alike.

I haven’t yet mentioned their sizes and prices. Generally speaking they range in size from a few inches to a couple of feet or slightly more. They are beautiful, they all wear a polyurethane coat for durability for indoor or outdoor use. They are very decorative, and impressive. Showy, original, unique. I guess unique says it already that they are all one of a kind. Each creation is signed or branded.