October 22nd, 2025

This 9" plate is made from quartersawn sapele, wood from a tree that grows in tropical Africa. This piece is part of a series of pieces made from this material which is salvaged from my childhood bookshelf. 

This plate was one of two turned on a faceplate using a paper joint. The first one was a fail as I cut the plate too thin. By the time I separated the paper joint, it was left with a hole in the center. 

Several cutting boards were also part of the series and given aways as gifts to family and friends. I still have more of this material on a shelf waiting for my next inspiration to use it.

November 1980

This plate is one of my first pieces of functional artwork. Created as a project in pre-school. Drawn on a round piece of paper and then sent to a local business that turned it into a plate. I used this plate regularly for dinner throughout childhood.

I don't remember what I was thinking while creating this design because I would have been almost 4 years old, but I do remember drawing it. I do remember a sense of not knowing what to draw on the blank sheet and think my teacher encouraged me to start by drawing circles. 

Reflecting back on it now 45 years later, I think I was foreshadowing the colors and directions my life would take.