I grew up in Southern California surrounded by concrete and corporate owned land. In 1998 I was introduced to The Finger Lakes region where villages and scattered homes are nestled among forests and fields. Trading freeways for waterways, I married a local gal – painter Kari Ganoung Ruiz – and our home and farm sit on the edge of the Finger Lakes National Forest. Immersion in nature now informs my artistic endeavors.
To walk out of the woodshop and hear the rushing water or an oncoming storm seem to ground me in the landscape and reinforce a connection to the harvested materials on my workbench. I want to harmoniously combine wood and stone with clean geometry. Although the design process is mired in calculations and technical drawings, the resulting work is alive and present in our daily lives.
I am currently focusing on the Illumination series of interior lighting; drawing inspiration from the tree lined bedrock that channels rushing water away from our homestead towards Cayuga Lake. My father in-law taught me to wield a chainsaw and mill lumber, my mother taught me to work stained glass, my father gave me the mind of an engineer, and my mentor taught me to design from a place deep within myself. With these tools, I create in the forest from the materials at my feet.
Studio Accessibility
Ground level studio/gallery spaces