Growing up I attended basic art classes in elementary and high school. I was never really good or excelled in art, mainly because I couldn’t draw very well. From what I remember the two classes that I attended mainly focused on drawing and painting.  I do remember spending many hours doodling on paper during class when I was bored.

In the mid-90s I became fascinated with shell art, guitars, and music. I first tried carving with a Dremel tool, this is when my daydream doodling finally paid off. I spent a total of eight to twelve hours carving these beautiful Turbo shells.

Next, I decided to experiment with woodburning and inlaying mother of pearl into a guitar body. This was my first attempt at customizing a Fender Stratocaster guitar.  I had little guidance and improvised with what I had available.

My second guitar inlay attempt was much better than the first.  I read Pearl Inlay by James Patterson and The Art of Inlay by Larry Robinson.  My custom inlay work is basic and simple in comparison to the amazing work they offer. It took me a year to finally complete this project.

Growing up I never really had an interest in learning music. It wasn’t until 1995 that the interest sparked. My good friend Rob Marsh taught me the basic fundamentals of rhythm guitar. I remember playing repetitive rhythm progressions for hours. It was a great time and I met so many amazing people. We had many spontaneous jam sessions in our basement with local musicians. We eventually had a band named Ralph and the Machioes.  In 2003 we had a reunion jam ” The Return Of The Shellman.”

In seventh-grade woodshop, I remember making my first clock out of pine wood. In 2000, I found a unique piece of wood in the scrap pile at the wood shop and decided to do something original.  I carved it using a basic Dremel tool and later customized it with some inlay work.
This once was a Miller lite clock. It was going to be thrown away in the trash. I kept the clock and customized it with beautiful shells and beach sand.

Please check out my mentors work at Marshwood Guitars. Rob Marsh makes some of the best hand-crafted custom guitars.     https://marshwoodguitars.blogspot.com/

I challenge you to make some beautiful art and share it with the world, Have a great day.