From 1963 to 1965, after graduating from the University of Michigan, I worked in the Army medical core as a urologist on Sandia base. The base, located on the edge of Albuquerque, New Mexico, produced and stored nuclear weapons. I also worked at Kirtland, which is the world’s largest storage for nuclear weapons.
After the military, I continued my career as a urologist in a private practice for thirty-three years, and I taught clinical urology at Michigan State University Medical School. Throughout my years in the army and my private medical practice, I served patients who needed solutions to various physical problems. But the greatest way that I could help anyone in life would be to encourage them to have faith in the Lord, who would be their greatest blessing.
Spotted Maple
At seventy-five, I started a new hobby of making hand-carved bowls. I learned to work with maple, one of the hardest wood species. Some of the tools used to create the wooden bowl are a lathe, a gouge, and a scraper. The lathe helps to form the outside of the bowl, while the gouge and scraper help make a recess on the inside of the bowl.
Common wood defects, such as a fungus infestation, can cause spots, bark inclusion, or streaking on the wood, producing interesting effects. I enjoy the creative process of starting with a small log and, eight hours later, ending with a unique, hand-carved object. As a former surgeon, woodworking seems to be a natural creative outlet. In art as well as in life, the rustic simplicity of the work portrays the beauty within imperfections.
Our new type of ArtPrize venue gives veterans a voice as they share their stories of struggle and healing through art.
Spotted Maple is showcasing at Veterans Memorial Park
A special thanks to Kent County Veterans Services, Zero Day, Finish the Mission, West Michigan Veterans Coalition, Breton Woods of Holland Home, PlexiCase Inc, and Healing in Arts for making this collaboration of veteran stories possible.
