Chris studied Art and Education at East Carolina University, receiving his BFA in 1977. Since then, he’s worked in clay (raku-fired sculptures), cartooning, videography, and found object sculpture. For over a decade, the artist worked exclusively with mild-steel creating sculptures and interesting figures for the garden as well as interior wall pieces, tables, and sculptures. He explained to anyone interested that working with steel felt natural and playful. His work was a reflection of that joy.
However, in the spring of 2022, it became apparent he was beginning to lose the joy he'd once experienced in his steelwork. Change was due. Not certain what that might look like, he kept his eyes and heart open. When the Cove Street Gallery in Portland announced a two-day workshop in White Line Watercolor Woodcuts, he felt a strong pull to attend. That two-day workshop with Lisa Houck changed everything. Chris returned to his studio, cleaned his steel equipment, and put it on Craig’s to sell as one unit. Within 24 hours, it was gone. He cleaned, repainted, and redesigned his studio and has been actively printing woodblock watercolors since. The joy he was beginning to lose has returned tenfold!
Though he always had an active art studio, Chris was also a teacher of elementary and middle school gifted & talented students in Maine public schools for thirty years. His program was unique because it focused on creativity and how to think rather than what to think. For example, his Project Think program in Falmouth and his Advanced Learner's Program in Raymond challenged students by asking questions, looking for the second right answer, challenging assumptions, taking intellectual risks, and employing humor whenever and wherever possible. This was accomplished in units related to archeology, filmmaking, inventions, creative writing, creative mathematics, and more.
Chris’s artwork has been featured in shows at the Haley Gallery (Kittery, ME), June Fitzpatrick Gallery (Portland, ME), The Warwick Museum (Warwick, Rhode Island), Cove Gallery (Wellfleet, MA), 51 High Street, (Belfast, ME), Hole in the Wall, (Raymond, ME), North Dam Mill (Biddeford, ME), The Artist’s Space (Orono, ME), Two Hands Gallery (Camden, ME), the Phoenix Gallery (Portland, ME), and many others. The artist has also shown work at many outdoor festivals and shows, including The Channel Six Art Walk (Portland, ME), The Yarmouth Clam Festival (Yarmouth, ME), The Old Port Festival (Portland, ME), Castlebury Fair (Gloucester, MA), and Naked in New Hope (New Hope, PA).
The artist has called Maine home for 40 years.