Biography

I was born in 1947 in Joliet, IL.  After finishing high school I enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1965.  I ended  my military service at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, AZ in 1974 and decided to make my home in the desert southwest.  I retired from the City of Yuma, AZ as a Senior Engineering Technician with 24+ years of experience and now I have more time to cut wood!

I have been married to my wife Kathy for over 32 years (seems longer!).  We have one daughter who has blessed us with three grandchildren.  Hobbies include cutting wood, sawing wood, counting wood, looking at wood and wood in general.

Artist's Statement

"I have always been fascinated with creating things out of wood.  When I was old enough to be trusted with a hammer and a handsaw (there is still some debate in my family on when this actually happened) I was always making something out of wood I found laying around the garage.  Then came model ships and airplanes.  Even after my military service the fascination with creating something out of wood was still there.

In the spring of 1995 I was introduced to the wood lathe and it's been a love affair ever since.  I get immense satisfaction when I take a piece of wood that was destined to become fuel in someone's fireplace and create something beautiful and useful out of it.  Woodturning provides me with the opportunity to work with one of Nature's most beautiful and bountiful resource.

Now I spend the majority of my time looking for and processing exceptional wood for my customers.  It's almost as challenging as turning, just as messy, and almost as gratifying.  Good wood is hard to find and I take as much satisfaction from someone telling me that I turned a beautiful bowl as someone telling me that I supplied them with the most beautiful pen blanks they have ever turned."

10" tall end-grained turned spalted cottonwood with Gabon ebony hollow form.
Created by Bill Baumbeck