I am a schooled artist in the fine arts mainly structured in ceramics , etching and engraving, line drawing pen and ink . Being self taught in wood work , carving , leather and 3-dimensional sculpture , glass and metal etching and engraving. I have never seen or taken any formal training in this 'bottle whimsy. craft, as there is no formal training facilities, hence the category "Outsider Folk Craft". 

  With modern technology overtaking most all 2-dimensional and some 3-dimensional aspects of modern art,  this 'style' has seen little advancement in technique since it's beginnings in the 1700's. Materials, tools and techniques have made improvements but the process has been unchanged for 400 + years. There is only one way to build any thing into a secure bottle form that is from the outside in.

  My main purpose in doing this type of art is to maintain and still develope my own craft in  a long lost  'art'. The comparison between an artist and a crafts person is becoming more definitive rather than dubious.

   My first attempt at this was in 1967, on-and-off I continue to improve and bring new ideas and methods to this craft.