Artist Biography

Roger started working with wood at an early age, with the encouragement of his father and shop teachers. He enjoyed doing "flatwork" and those skills eventually helped him build and finish two houses.

When is father died, he inherited an old wood lathe, which he ended up storing for over 10 years unused. In 2000 he tried using it, "with disastrous results". Despite the fact, he discovered he loved turning, and took lessons from Ted Bartholomew and David Bradbury.

"I discovered I was 'addicted' to turning" he says, "and all other shop equipment became staging areas for wood turning". He passed on this 'addiction' for turning wood to his nephew by giving him his father's old lathe.

Eventually he began selling his wood turnings at craft fairs and such galleries as Northwest Fine Woodworking and the Seattle Art Museum gift shop. He is a member of the Pacific Northwest Woodturners' Guild, and Olympic Peninsula Chapter of the AAW.

Roger turns using woods from local fallen trees such as Alder, Birch, Big Leaf Maple, Mountain Ash, Pacific Yew and ornamental trees such as Beech, Elm, Monkey Puzzle and Oak. He is always interested in discovering what beauty awaits in a fallen log after a lot of sawdust