At the age of twelve when my family moved to Lennon, Michigan. I attended Corunna High School where I was fortunate enough to graduate at the top of my admittedly small (~250) graduating class, with majors in Mathematics, Art, Drafting, English, and Science. During this time, I had my first work experience as a draftsman for Simplicity Engineering in Durand, Michigan, specialists in large materials handling equipment. Here I gained an appreciation for the power of mathematics and mechanics in design.

I attended the School of Art at the University of Michigan from 1982 to 1986, receiving a BFA with dual studies in Industrial Design and Metalsmithing. There I worked on a number of interdisciplinary projects with the schools of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering and the School of Business Administration. My most influential instructors were Alan Samuels, Alfredo Montalvo, Gene and Hiroko Pijanowski, Mark Cresik and especially Alf Ward. Alf, recently retired as metals instructor at Winthrup University, is a master craftsman from England who has the skills to make anything out of any material.

Following college, I began working in the field of jewelry design at Matthew C. Hoffmann Jewelry Desigwhich had stores in Ann Arbor, Chicago, and New York. The greatest value I derived from this experience was in gaining a working understanding of abstract form and transition. The work at Hoffmann's was extremely sculptural in nature and not traditional but highly creative. In 1988 I spent two semesters studying with Alf Ward at Tennessee Tech University's Appalachian Center for Crafts in Smithville, Tennessee, spending most of the time working on furniture design and developing a concept for a hybrid human- and solar-powered commuter vehicle I had begun as my undergraduate thesis project at the University of Michigan. Unfortunately, they were not accredited for a masters program and I wanted to get my Master's degree. After returning to Ann Arbor in early 1989, I began working again for Matthew Hoffmann while applying to graduate school.

The Via

I was accepted to 4 schools: Ohio State, Purdue, Rochester Institute of Technology, and the University of Kansas, but Kansas offered the best financial aid package. I moved to Lawrence in the fall and began what would turn out to be three of the most rewarding and productive years of my life. The faculty at KU were exemplary, diverse, and very accepting, especially Lance Rake and Richard Branham. They allowed me to explore the areas of interest that intrigued me and helped me make connections with others in the university, essentially writing my own program. I also met my wife, Laura Stack, during orientation and it soon became obvious that we were meant to be together.

My main focus during my KU years was the work on the VIA (almost exclusively for the last 2 1/2 years), a hybrid, human- and solar-powered commuter vehicle. Collaborating with the Departments of Mechanical Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Electrical Engineering, I completed a semi-working prototype in the spring of 1992. Documentation of the work continued through the summer of that year. I also worked on furniture and other product design, including the dynamics of boomerang design. I graduated with honors at the end of the summer of 1992 and we moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota.

While working at a small design firm in Minneapolis, I realized that the goals inherent in creating commercial products were in conflict with my personal and professional goals and began exploring other career opportunities. I had started working with computers in college and wrote my first program in 1985. Until 1993, they had existed as tools for doing other tasks. In the spring of 1993, I began working at Ideal Learning, Inc. creating children's educational. I began as an illustrator but soon began to expand my functions to include development, programming and multimedia design. This led in 1994 to employment at CWC, Inc., and a move to LeSeuer, Minnesota. This was also the year Laura and I were married.

I remained at CWC and its reincarnation, Firepond, Inc., for seven years. During this period, my background in industrial designer and human factors combined with my computer skills allowed me to be a graphic designer, project manager, animator, content developer, usability expert and consultant, UI designer, 3D modeler, instructor, multimedia developer, web designer and programmer.

2001 was a cathartic year for everyone in the country, but it was especially so for me and my family. In the Spring, I completed my first, large furniture piece ("Impossible Buffet") since completing my shop the previous Fall. Not long after, Laura and I found out we were going to have our first child. Like most Americans, our lives were changed forever by the events of 9/11, but it hit home especially hard, because I was laid off from Firepond soon after. Finally, when our son, Erin, was born a month later, he had a significant birth defect that took months of surgeries and numerous stays at Children's Hospital, Minneapolis.

I remained unemployed until late Summer 2002, when I found employment at U.S. Bank, where I've been since. Both Laura and I have been able to find time between work and Erin to do our art and Erin is a healthy, happy, little boy.