“I get great satisfaction from taking a big block of nothing and turning it into something. Plus, I really enjoy the reactions I get. People stop by while I’m working and they’re awestruck. Young kids and old folks especially are crazy for it. For me, it’s about making stuff.

“I had a brother who died at 57. He had brain cancer. They did surgery and chemo and radiation and on and on, and then he died. All during that time he was staying with me because he was divorced and had nobody to take care of him. When he died, it became impossible to piss me off. And I refused to waste time. My wife loves to go to the casinos and throw money away, and I abhor it. I think it’s an intense waste of time.

“I like to do things all the time. And I like to make stuff. I try to start at least one new project every day. My house looks like a cheap souvenir shop because of it. There’s stuff everywhere.

“On occasion I have to finish one. That’s the nasty work, finishing it. But it’s important because it pleases your eye. Then when you’re done with it you can say, ‘That’s good enough.’”

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“I have fun creating things out of wood. I don’t have another job, so it means that I have to work every day. I have to make something every day and take time to sell it.

“I used to be a salesman, selling industrial equipment around Houston. I was never a wealthy man, but I became comfortable. Quitting was a tough thing to do. But it got to the point where I was not doing that job properly. I was driving around in the car doing commission maquettes. So I finally decided to go full time with my wood carving thing.

“It amazes me that it works. It amazes me that I’m able to feed myself. I often go to sleep at night wondering if anybody is going to want my stuff next week. But when I start feeling like that, I go make something new. That’s all you can do, make more stuff.”

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“So 10 years ago I was cutting down a tree in my front yard. It was an old trash tree that needed to go. But what struck me was how beautiful the wood was. I looked at it and I felt compelled to use it for something. So I just started from scratch and kind of snuck up on it and hacked at it with my chainsaw. A pelican is what I wanted to do, so I just cut it out like a paper doll. When I was done somebody said, ‘Wow, can you do that again?’

“I got obsessed. I started making things all the time. The very first thing I ever did, that pelican, is still sitting on my fireplace.”

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