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Gary has been a Sudbury Team Member for about a year and a half. He keeps busy either helping our Guests find what they need, assembling most of the floor display items, or assisting with product knowledge training. When Gary turned 28, he decided to take on a hobby. With an X-ACTO knife set, some white pine wood, and a library book to guide him, Gary learned to carve a variety of animals and figures.
At an art show in 1987, he met another craftsman who invited him to join a decoy carving group. Seeing the detail others put into painting their birds was a little intimidating at first, but Gary was determined to learn.
He later enrolled in classes at the Haliburton School of Fine Arts, (Haliburton, Ontario), at Canadore College (North Bay, Ontario), and Bob Guge's School of Wildfowl Carving (Fontana, Wisconsin). After 4 sessions, Mr. Guge convinced Gary to start his own classes. After teaching 3 years at Cambrian College (Sudbury, Ontario), Gary left to set up his own studio, where he taught his craft for the next 15 years.
His work has won top standings in two provincial competitions, and has won both "First" and "Best Of" categories at the Ward World Championship Wildfowl Carving Competition held in Ocean City, Maryland.
We're lucky to have Gary and other talented Team Members on our team!
