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I was born (1952) and raised on a cattle ranch near the town of Council in west central
Idaho. I still live in this beautiful, forested area where my grandparents
on both sides homesteaded early in the 20th Century.
In my 20s, I spent four years traveling the West in a country-rock band.
While performing in Seattle in 1976, I saw scrimshaw for the first time,
fell in love with the detail that is possible, and started trying my hand at it.
After returning to my ranching roots, I started doing scrimshaw for the Buck Knife Company,
working on several hundred limited edition knives in the 1980s.
A Buck knife on which I scrimmed a portrait of Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Shamir
was presented to Mr. Shamir in honor of his inauguration.
After the Buck custom department closed, I continued to scrim knives for individual collectors.
For the past 20 years or so I’ve been doing a lot of work for a wholesaler from Anchorage, Alaska.
I tend to specialize in portraits (the ultimate challenge), but enjoy rendering
just about any subject. About 99% of my work is done using a stipple technique,
and in monochrome (black or single color). I sometimes make silver or gold settings
for my work, in the form of pendants, belt buckles, bolo ties, bracelets, etc.
I scrimshaw part time, and also work as a writer, having written two books on local history
and am working on a third. I write a weekly history column for the local newspaper
and manage the Council historical museum.
I also have a bluegrass band in which I sing and play several instruments.
My wife, Anna, is the Council Postmaster, and plays bass in the band.