My furniture starts with a small sketch. I have several sketch books full of small drawings of chairs and tables. I constantly see things that spark an idea for a piece of furniture, mostly chairs.

I am influenced by all sorts of things. Architecture and art, other furniture makers' work, things in nature, and life in Texas. Texas is a wonderful place full of wonderful characters, beautiful places and interesting terrains. There is no other place with the history and mythology of Texas. There is a spirit here that makes anything possible and an openness that inspires people to try something different.

I do more sketches. Once I have a sketch that I think would be an interesting piece of furniture, I do several more showing different angles and trying different proportions and shapes. From there, I make full-sized cutouts from 1/4” gatorboard. I like gatorboard because it cuts and sands quickly and easily, and it allows me to work out the final proportions without wasting wood. It is also rigid and strong enough that I can put the pieces together and get a better idea of what the finished piece will look like. I also use the finished gatorboard cutouts as templates for cutting the wood.

Every piece of wood is carefully joined and glued. Then the final shaping is done, and the piece is sanded smooth. All the sharp edges are softened just a bit. I don’t think I can spend too much time sanding. I like the wood to be sanded to the point when it starts to show a luster even before a finish is put on.

When the wood is smooth, the finish is applied. It takes a few days to get the finish to the point where it looks and feels right. On most woods, I put on a heavy coat of oil finish and let it penetrate the wood. After enough soaking time has passed, I wipe off the finish and let it dry. Thin coats of finish are then applied and sanded with fine sandpaper between coats. I want wood to feel like wood, not plastic, and at the same time have enough finish applied to protect the wood from everyday use. After several coats of finish have been applied, I rub the wood briskly with terry cloth to harden the surface and make it smoother.