about:

me

Born in Switzerland in 1955, I emigrated to Perth, Western Australia, in 1990 with my wife, Barbara. With teaching experience in Switzerland at Realschule level and later in Materials Design & Technology at several private secondary schools in Perth, I bring a meticulous and considered approach to creative woodwork, furniture design, and joinery.

Since settling in Perth, I have designed and crafted numerous pieces of furniture for our family home. I strive for excellence in every aspect—both visible and concealed—creating unique works intended to endure for generations. A well-designed and finely crafted piece radiates the care invested in it. The timber itself—its grain, direction, and natural variations in colour—imbues each work with its own character. Equally important is a sensitivity to the environment for which a piece is intended, allowing complementary elements to be thoughtfully integrated into the design. I believe that beauty is often born of simplicity: a piece is complete when nothing more can be removed.

Between 1995 and 2003, I combined refined craftsmanship with artistic intuition to create bespoke picture frames on commission. Each frame was conceived as an extension of the artwork it surrounded, incorporating the artist’s style, motifs, and visual language.

During this time, I also developed a deep interest in the Bowen Technique, an Australian remedial therapy that supports the body’s natural healing processes. This interest led me to train as an instructor, and in 2004 I began introducing Bowen to Switzerland. From 2004 to 2010, teaching Bowen became my primary focus.

In 2010, I returned to full-time teaching in Design & Technology, continuing in this role until my retirement in April 2022.

A pivotal moment came in May 2010 during a Bowen trip to Switzerland. Encouraged by my friend Paul Steiner—a surveyor and chainsaw sculptor—I explored creative chainsaw carving for the first time. This marked the beginning of a deeply inspired artistic phase, in which wood—the material that had shaped much of my professional life—became my primary artistic medium.

Alongside my own practice, I introduced students to the idea of “turning wood into art.” For me, art is fundamentally about life, and visual art—whether landscape, figurative, or abstract—reflects this. Wood art adds another dimension: it is created from something that once lived. Trees stand as silent witnesses to decades, sometimes centuries, of history. They shelter, sustain, and record. Within their rings and fibres lie stories waiting to be revealed. In sculpting wood, the artist enters into a final dialogue with the tree, guiding it into a new form while honouring its past. Traces of its previous life often remain visible, enriching the meaning of the work.

I see my practice as a collaboration with a greater artist: nature itself. My aim is to unite the inherent beauty of the timber with my own artistic voice, paying tribute to the life the tree once lived. In doing so, I seek to tell the tree’s story alongside my own—offering it a second life and continuing the cycle of birth, death, and renewal.

Since 2023, I have begun exploring a new artistic direction, researching approaches to wall-based work. Increasing strain in my hands has made the use of power tools and repetitive manual processes more challenging. As a result, a period of transition is emerging, with new directions unfolding from 2025 and beyond.

my sculptures (Please take a moment to explore the GALLERY on my website and discover my work)

• explore form, texture and proportion

• push and play with the boundaries of reality

• are intuitive expressions of distorted surreal beings

• embrace simple beauty, with an occasional touch of quirkiness

• seek a synthesis between the figurative and the abstract, the real and imaginary

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my inspiration

• sculpting is an amazing outlet for my creative and artistic energy; it recharges me, challenges me and brings balance to my life

• natural materials, their honesty, character and the marks that time, weather and use leave behind

• a particular passion for wood, creating a body of work that is environmental conscious at its core and inherently unique

• imaginatively visualising collected materials and structures found in nature, then redirecting their life stories in something new

• working in small series, with each piece exploring and expressing a particular idea or concept

• embracing the challenge of using rough, self-taught techniques and tools (including the chainsaw, Arbortec woodcarver, angle grinder, power file and wire brush) to transform raw materials into delicate artworks with contrasting textures and surfaces

• taking time to work each piece carefully, searching for the point where form, texture and proportion come together

• recycling and Wabi-Sabi go hand in hand in my practice; the Japanese philosophy of finding wisdom and beauty in imperfection nurtures what is authentic by embracing three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect

• sculptors whose work challenges conventional ideas of the human form and material, including Paul Steiner, Alberto Giacometti, Peter Adams, Willy Verginer, Fernando Botero, Nikki de Saint Phalle, Antony Gormley

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my art (Please take a moment to explore the GALLERY on my website and discover my work)

• a subconscious manifestation of inspiration
  My art is a reflection of the things that inspire me—often emerging intuitively from ideas, emotions, observations and impressions that have found their way into my subconscious.

• evolving through experience
  My work is continually evolving, shaped by my experiences, discoveries and changing perspectives throughout life. Each new piece becomes part of that ongoing journey.

• an invitation to interpret
  I create my work as a visual talking point for the viewer. I deliberately leave room for personal interpretation, imagination and creative response—there are no boundaries or prescribed meanings.

• art to be experienced and enjoyed
  Art should bring pleasure. My aim is for each piece to provide enjoyment not only for me as its creator, but also for the viewer—and ultimately for the person who gives it a new home.

• creating an emotional connection
  Whenever I begin a new piece, I strive to create something memorable: a work that captures attention, evokes emotion and establishes a meaningful connection between an object and the human being who encounters it.

• finding my own niche
  I enjoy creating a distinctive form of art that is not only aesthetically beautiful, but also individual and one-of-a-kind. I am drawn to unusual materials, organic forms and unexpected ideas that allow each work to develop its own character.

• signed and dated
  Every piece is individually signed and dated, marking its place within my artistic journey.

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a note about wood:

• Wood is a living medium. Even after it has been transformed into a work of art, it continues to respond to its environment. Changes in humidity and temperature can cause wood to expand, contract, develop cracks or alter in colour.

• These changes are natural characteristics of the material and are part of what makes working with wood so unique. Cracks, movement and colour variations are therefore not defects, but an inherent part of the wood's ongoing life and character.

• To help preserve your sculpture, avoid placing it in environments that are excessively dry, hot or subject to significant fluctuations in temperature or humidity.

• The wood continues its journey—even after the artist has finished working with it.​