I was born in Cumberland, Maryland and raised in Washington, D.C. My first encounter with sculpture came in the many parks in Washington where I was surrounded by statues of famous Americans and even played ball among them as a kid. Of course I did not have an appreciation of the skill required to create these great monuments at this time. I did have an indication that I could work with my hands at an early age when I received an award for a clay model of the heart at age 15 in a science contest at the Department of Commerce.

I attended college at Howard University in Washington, D.C. I left college after two years to join the U.S. Air Force and served three years in France, a portion of which was spent working in the Medical Clinic in Paris at Orly Field. This gave me the opportunity to visit the major cities of Europe and see works by the masters of the art world.

When I was discharged from the Air Force I attended Howard University College of Dentistry. While a student I created facial prostheses at Memorial Hospital in New York, which was probably the most rewarding experience I have ever had. During my practice years I enjoyed jewelry making to satisfy my artistic creativity.

When I returned a few years ago, an artist friend suggested that I turn to sculpture to fill the void of retirement. This led me to study figure sculpture at the Robert Cunningham Studio in Los Angeles. Little did I know, the knowledge of anatomy and facial features, and the manual skills developed in dentistry had prepared me for the study of sculpture.

Now I know the joy of bringing a block of clay to life.