Artist Statement
Even at an early age Rich enjoyed working with his hands
and being creative. Working with wood is challenging and
rewarding for him, because of his passion.
Rich's first career was in animal husbandry and he
managed multiple pure-breed diary operations. After the
realization that the amount of work did not equal the
rewards he decided to get a Bachelor of Business
Administration (BBA) in Information Systems from the
University of Wisconsin and try the corporate world.
Although these challenges exercised his mind, Rich
missed working with his hands.
A woodworking hobby grew into his passion, which in turn
became his profession. Rich has supplemented his
self-taught skills and artistic eye with professional
training to speed up the learning and proficiency
curves.
Rich's style incorporates clean lines that produce
exceptional pieces of furniture. These pieces are
functional, and can be considered art. He emphasizes and
incorporates flowing lines that are attractive, elegant,
and depictive of nature. His style is based on
traditional design with influence from Asian and Shaker
design.
Rich also incorporates decorative details such as inlays
and uses highly figured woods. Highly figured woods have
organic characteristics and what he calls the wow or
knockout factor. Rich puts a great deal of care and
attention into each piece and truly feels that these
finished pieces are part of him because of it. It is
Rich's desire to share his work with you and that his
work takes on a life of its own.
His philosophy is basic: smile and enjoy whatever you do
with a passion and remember that your world is what you
make of it.
