The first time I can remember sculpting was when I was about five years old and living on the family farm in Melba, Idaho. Everyone was busy with the harvest. In order to give me something to do, my mother sat me down in the front yard with a large sugar beet and a table knife. I carved away and chewed on the cool, sweet, sugar beet and that was the beginning of my sculpting career. Although this first experience was probably nothing more that an exercise in eating a simple afternoon snack, I did begin to learn how to use my hands and simple tools to sculpt. As I grew up, I continued to take every opportunity to practice sculpting and carving.

In grade school my favorite subject was art class. Later in Junior High my art teacher encouraged me to try different art mediums, from corrugated paper to clay. Although much of my time at this age was dedicated to after school chores and hunting with our Golden Lab, named Yeller, I  continued to hone my skills. Later in high school, I devoted much of my time to wood shop and welding classes. This also gave me an understanding of how to create useful items from different materials.   

After graduating from Vale Union High School in Vale, Oregon, I served an eighteen month, Spanish speaking mission, for my church. I served twelve months in Buenos Aries, Argentina and six months in Salt Lake City, Utah. After my mission, I moved to Southern California. I attended Community College in Bakersfield, California where I met and married my wonderful wife, Marlene, and started a family.  

One September day while attending the Kern County Fair, I met a group of Woodcarvers and sculptors that called themselves the Kern River Carvers. I saw all the beautiful work that they had made and inquired on how I could learn to do that. They were a very friendly group and quickly invited me to attend the weekly meeting where they shared with me their expertise. Soon I was creating all kinds of carvings and sculptures out of different types of wood.  Later I served as vice-president of the Kern River Carvers. A few years later, I entered a pair of California Quail in the art show at the Kern County Fair.  The same place I met the Kern River Carvers. Surprisingly, I won first place and best of show that year.

In 1989 my job required that we move our young family to Santa Maria, California. I kept up on my art as much as I could with the heavy demands of the new career (Highway Patrol Officer). In 1991 I transferred back to Bakersfield and worked out of that office up until 1997 when I received a medical retirement after sustaining a back injury. This required surgery and during my recovery a friend of mine, Ron Moore,  who I met through the Kern River Carvers,  suggested that I try a new sculpting medium, polymer clay. I took one of Ron's sculpting classes and really liked this new sculpting medium. Sculpting with polymer clay I was able to sculpt faster and with more detail than I was able to do using wood. I began producing many more sculptures and began sharing them with family and friends. People saw my sculptures and asked if they were for sale. I soon started selling my sculptures and have also done several commissions.

After retiring I moved to Keizer, Oregon and began showing some of my art work at the Enid Joy Mount Gallery.  I was asked to teach a sculpting class on the techniques I had learned and developed. Since then, I have taught over 80 students to sculpt with polymer clay. I continue to sculpt and occasionally teach a wildlife sculpture class at the Keizer Art Association in Keizer, Oregon.