Story

In 2011, I was enrolled at the Long Beach Model Boat Shop. There I learned the fundamental lesson of all art forms: patience. I spent weeks sanding hulls, keels, and masts. The director approved my work, assembled the boats, and I painted them. After several summers attending the program, I began crafting boats from scratch at home. Gradually, I acquired and gained proficiency; the garage transformed into my woodworking workshop.

My ambition was to create complex pieces that evoked wonder. I read books on boats and ships, sketched scaled theoretical designs, created cardstock templates, then traced the template patterns onto redwood. I developed a method of construction by stacking planks of wood then cutting my designs with a bandsaw thereby creating intricately layered decks and hulls. To date, I have completed and worked on hundreds of boats. They measure from 4 inches to a 9 foot, 115 sail catamaran. I eventually gained broader public recognition. I was featured in a local newspaper article and an online Long Beach Post piece including a documentary video.

As a distraction and mental break from some of the complex engineering problems I faced boat building, I turned to abstract painting. Oftentimes, the wood in my scrap bucket was activated by pigment as it was recycled into my paintings. I liked to use unconventional mediums: putty, sawdust, super glue, broken frames, spray paint, and oil sticks. Refined detailed woodworking and intended disordered painting, two separate entities, yet for me, they went hand in hand.

My works are not based on professional instruction, but by creative thinking blended in union with gatherings from the tangible world. My craft has transformed into much more than a hobby.

After the Long Beach Model Boat Shop closed in 2018, I reached out hoping to bring back the iconic program. With help from the experienced and skillful Parks and Rec employee, Isabella Morgan, we have successfully re-instituted the Long Beach Model Boat Shop. Find more information HERE.