About the Artist Briefly I... • grew up in Trempealeau, Wisconsin, a small town on the Mississippi River. • graduated from Winona State University in 1959 with bachelor's degrees in English and art. I received an MA from Mankato State University in 1973. • met sculptor Angel Lillo in 1966. Angel fled Spain because his father, a town mayor, was assassinated by Franco supporters. Working with Angel, a "classically trained" sculptor, taught me many techniques I had never learned in college. • studied with Eduardo Gutierrez from 1968 to 1969. A master carver who came to the States to work on one of Angel's church commissions, Eduardo was a very strict teacher, even in the way I'd lay the tools on the bench. He did me a great favor by ingraining in me habits that have served me for 30 years. • began teaching carving classes at the Faribault Art Center in 1974. In a few years the classes were attracting students nationally. Now students from every state of the US and many parts of Canada have attended my classes. • was commissioned to do a series of carvings for St. Martin's Episcopal Church, (Fairmont, Minnesota) in 1974. Some of the carvings I did under Eduardo's wing went into churches, but that was the first church commission I did on my own hook. Now I have carvings all over the United States and in many countries abroad. • carved the Stations of the Cross (1977) for Sacred Heart in Faribault, the first major commission in my home town. • published "Pictorial Relief" (the first of 12 books) in 1991. The success of that first book let me know that there was a reading audience interested in my style of carving. • have contributed to Chip Chats since 1983. • became carving editor of Creative Woodworks and Crafts in 1997. • has written for "Carving Magazine" since 2003