Carving My Own Lane

I first got into woodworking my senior year of high school. I was technically enrolled in metal shop, but I became instantly drawn to the woodshop next door. My teacher, Mr. Toliver, noticed my curiosity and trusted me to spend time in the shop. He became my first woodworking mentor. In that shop, I remember feeling endless creative possibilities. My first real taste of creative freedom, even if I didn’t recognize it at the time.

After graduating high school in 2008, life took me in other directions, and woodworking became an afterthought. Then in 2020, when the world shut down, I decided to stay busy by fixing my parents’ damaged wooden gate. I watched a few videos, borrowed some tools, and before I knew it, that same love for woodworking came rushing back. From there, I started building dog houses, playhouses, and fences. Woodworking became my outlet. The power tools became my paintbrushes.

In the summer of 2021, while working on a project, I stumbled upon a wood plank with knots that resembled an ostrich. Being playful, I used my scroll saw to cut out a suit, tie, and glasses, placing them over the knots to bring the character to life. I named the creation Gerald from Corporate and shared it online, where it received an outpouring of positive reactions. Seeing how much joy my art brought to others motivated me to keep it going.  Creating stories from wood knots became the creative freedom I had been searching for all along.

Since then, I’ve spent the last few years developing my art, blending humor, storytelling, and craftsmanship. In November 2025, I presented my first solo exhibition; Finding Stories in Wood at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts in Mountain View, California. Fourteen original works across both series were shown over a six-week run. It was the first time the full body of work came together in one space.

My work has been featured in the Contra Costa Pioneer and I received the Industrial Arts Student of the Year Award at Ygnacio Valley High School, the beginning of a path I didn’t know I was on.

Press:

“Artist sees the possibilities beyond carpentry skills”

— John Nakanishi, Arts in Motion, Contra Costa Pioneer, October 2022

pioneerpublishers.com/artist-sees-the-possibilities-beyond-carpentry-skills