ARTIST STATEMENTChoosing wood as a creative medium was natural for me. My father was a carpenter and Shipwright. He taught me, as a young boy, that wood was one of the most addicting and user friendly materials a craftsman or aspiring artist could work with. While growing up in my native Barbados, I mimicked every move, cut and style of woodworking that my father performed with a variety of finely tuned hand tools. I developed good skills in the process.My earlier works explored the seemingly infinite variety of shapes and forms that allowed the natural beauty of the woof to be reflected aesthetically in the vessels created. I discovered that the natural beauty of the wood represented only one component of creative expression and was not the only criterion upon which I could base my work. I wanted to create vessels with a new spin.In the late 1980s, I started creating wood-turned art utilizing a lathe. This not only allowed me to craft various woods into forms and shapes more efficiently, but also the delicately crafted finials and covers that accessorize and enhance each individual piece. I wanted to create pieces that showed a connection between my world view and my inner self, by exploring and embracing all aspects of this medium so as not to limit the expressiveness of the work itself.I am inspired by things that have greatly influenced y thought processes - nature, travel, family,cultural diversity, the workmanship of things made, memories and experiences of the past, artists whose works I admire, and my engineering background. Therefore, I strive to continually present this creative experience through my work that connects these processes, making them real.