I was born in St. Louis, Missouri and grew up on a 200 acre farm 80 miles south, on the edge of the Ozark mountains.
Living on a farm, we were always working on the different equipment used to support the raising of animals and crops. I learned at a young age the concepts of the workings of machinery and how to use tools. Around the age of twelve I met a friend whose father had a well equipped machine shop for his hobby and I fell in love with the idea of making things from metal. To this end I began studies in school which lead to me attending machine shop classes in high school.
Upon graduation I entered the U.S. Air Force and for 24 years traveled the world installing and maintaining navigation equipment on airfields in many countries. While in the military, I developed a desire to make knives. A supervisor also made knives and introduced me to the forging of steel and the idea of pushing metal instead of removing it.
A machinist takes a piece of metal and removes all the material not required for the part. In forging, a smith heats the metal and pushes it to the places he needs it. Forging of metal introduced me to art for the sake of art. Working in my shop in Picayune Mississippi I strive to create artwork that is both pleasing to the eye and useful as well.
I have studied under many great smiths — Chris Marks, Frank Turley, Rob Gunter, Larry Harley, James Batson — and attended classes at the American Bladesmith Society School, Austin Community College, Tom Clark’s Ozark School of Blacksmithing, and many others.
GCBA has adopted the 
Gulf Coast Blacksmith Association 