I started out my professional life as a mechanical designer. I worked for five years designing everything from automotive assemblies to jet landing gear. I found the lack of creativity in my job absolutely stifling and in 2003 I left the field completely to persue art. Since then I've received a B.A. in Studio Fine Art with a concentration in New Media (digital art) from the University of Toledo. That was also when I found glass which has since become an obsession. I started out doing some fusing but as soon as I tried flameworking I was hooked. I've also taken several furnace classes but am still drawn to the intimate scale and detail inherent in flameworking. Glass, for me, combines my love of organic lines and detail while satisfying my interest in the technical/ analytical side of things.