Daniel was born in St. Louis Missouri and soon thereafter became a resident of rural northern New Jersey. His first taste of woodworking was in high school wood shop but it would be many years later that he eventually found his way back to what he now knows to be, quite possibly, his final vocation, as that of an artistic woodturner.
Preceeding his current passion of woodturning, Dan became an accomplished cabinet maker, gaining experience in several different shops, leading to a good understanding and appreciation of wood and its many inherent qualities. One woodshop that he worked in did a considerable amount of architectual turning but even with that exposure, Dan didn't realize what was in store for him. It was not until an old used lathe was offered for sale by the owner of the business, that his destiny would begin to unfold.
For reasons still unknown to him, Dan offered to buy the lathe. He had absolutely no experience turning nor did he have any recognizable desire to take up woodturning. Perhaps it was a gentle nudge from a higher power. Whatever caused this to happen is not to be questioned because Dan welcomed it with open arms. That was in September of 2000. Finally, in December of that year the lathe made its way into Dan's basement. When Christmas came around, he recieved a nice collection of turning tools as a gift from his boss who sold him the lathe. So that holiday week leading up to New Years 2001, yet another woodturner was born.
By that spring he knew he was on to something big. While teaching himself to turn from books and by trial and error, things started to take shape . Each new piece he turned led to greater expectations of himself. By May of that year he had outgrown the old Atlas lathe and had his eye on something much bigger and better. This new found passion was so great that he decided to sell his much loved bass boat in order to afford the new lathe. The Vicmarc VL300 lathe proved to be a good choice to suit his needs and was in operation by the end of July.
Now there was no question as to what level Dan intended to take his emerging artistic ability. His goal is to become the best he can be and through this, gain the recognition achieved by those great turners whose works inspire him daily.
