About

To say that I am a self-taught woodworker and artist would be mostly true. It was my Grandfather who kindled the first spark of inspiration in me with his question that came without limits “What do you want to make?” And no matter what I said I wanted to make on those infrequent Saturday mornings I spent with him, he would respond “Okay, let’s find a piece of wood.” It wasn’t until many years later that I realized what gifts he had given me, this hardworking, sometimes stubborn, Swedish immigrant grandparent. Three gifts:

An understanding of the usefulness of wood, you can make anything out of the right wood,

An appreciation of the beauty of wood, the variety and lines and colors and flaws and combinations are legion,

And the confidence to make whatever I see in my mind’s eye, I may not know how to make something I “see”, but I am confident I can figure out at least one way.

That is why I write that I am mostly self-taught. The journey of learning and adapting and imitating that I have been engaged in for 45 years would probably not have gone past the first coffee shop had it not been for these gifts.

The purpose of this site is for anyone to see what I have done, and what I can do. All of these works have stories behind them. Some I have written out (click on the image). Perhaps you wish to see if I am up to the challenge you have for me. Maybe you hope to find some inspiration for the mist of an idea that just won’t flow. This is a sample of my work to date and as I can I will add that which I am presently working on.

Thanks for visiting. I wish you the best.

Philip Hultgren

phultgren56@gmail.com