Natural Cherokee

It is my home in Colorado at an elevation of 8300’ where the materials I use are abundant. Most of my material is collected between 8300’ and 10,500’. My art is often functional art, such as hiking sticks and bowls. Finding an animal within the wood is special. Ponderosa Pine, Lodge Pole Pine, Douglas Fir, and Aspen are the trees I favor and collect around my property. I also will venture to extreme locations to gather fallen bristlecone pine; the oldest living trees on the planet., which grows only 1/100” in diameter per year.  

I only use fallen and dead trees. Trees succumbed to insect damage and fire are special; allowing nature to contribute to the one-of-a-kind beauty of each piece. All my art is made from one piece of wood. 

Semi-precious minerals can be found near my home, where I collect amazonite, smoky quartz, and crystal. You will often find these materials embedded in my art along with materials more common to pueblo artists such as turquoise and red coral.  

As I hike, I look for and collect interesting pieces of wood; often not yet visualizing what they will become. It is not uncommon to hike 5 miles and 1500’ in elevation to return with one piece of material. Eventually, the wood will let me know what it wants to be and that is when the journey to bring the dead wood back to life begins.  

“Wado!”