Tommy Simpson

As a child, Tommy Simpson combined pieces of scrap wood with found objects to create whimsical sculptures. His great-aunt Florence taught him to paint and encouraged him to study painting at Northern Illinois University. While pursuing his MFA in the subject at Cranbrook Academy of Art, Simpson turned to furniture as both a subject matter and a three-dimensional canvas, but never studied the craft formally. He often uses more than one type of wood in each piece of furniture, because he believes that different woods can engage viewers in a multitude of ways. Today, Simpson thinks of himself as a painter of furniture, and calls himself an "imaginist." (Pamela Koob, Tommy Simpson, 1993)