 Gerry is part of a dying breed- a fifth generation Mainer raised in the (then) sleepy village of Kennebunkport. The son of a lobsterman/boat builder and the grandson of the village blacksmith, he grew up with tools in his hands. So it is not surprising that he eventually became a sculptor. For much of his adult life he was also a high school art teacher. And it was his art that eventually took he and Valerie to New Zealand.
In 1987 he fulfilled a lifelong dream when he spent a year in New Zealand studying the Maori carvers and producing his own body of work for an exhibition. The bond he and Val felt with New Zealand and its people was so strong that for several years they spent their summer holidays returning.
 In 1991 their whole lives changed when Val was diagnosed with a benign spinal tumor. Though it was not life threatening, its affect was far reaching. Surgery was attempted but was unsuccessful. Faced with a long recovery process, Val and Gerry decided to take a leave of absence from teaching and go back to New Zealand. Although the climate was ideal for building strength and mobility, Val soon realized she needed something more to focus on. She considered learning bone carving.
And 'fate' stepped in. Many years before, Val and Gerry had purchased carvings from Owen Carson, a carver on their beach. They located him only to learn that he had stopped carving due to the death of his lifelong partner. But when he learned of Val's situation, he agreed to advise her on setting up a workshop. From that came an eight month apprenticeship... and a relationship which seemed to be therapeutic for both Val and Owen.
But even more importantly, Val discovered that focussing on such delicate detail required so much concentration that it actually decreased her awareness of pain.
Unable to resume her teaching position upon returning to the United States, Val began to market her bone carvings. In 1997 Gerry took early retirement from teaching in order to help Val with the growing business. As you can tell from this site, the business has continued to steadily grow.
 But Maine Bone Carving is not just about Gerry and Val. New Zealand has a rich bone carving history that goes back hundreds of years. Sometimes they meet a carver whose work is simply outstanding. And if they are very lucky they are able to add this carver's talents to their collections.
One such person is Brenda Archbold, of Pongakawa, New Zealand. If you've read other parts of this site you know that Val and Gerry shuttle their lives between Maine and New Zealand. In 2000 while in New Zealand, they discovered a talented carver living very near to their home. Brenda began carving professionally in 1987. She was one of those high school art students a teacher like Gerry would love the chance to teach. She had considered a career in graphic design but was forced to spent a few years in other jobs to pay the bills. She eventually apprenticed to a professional carver (which is the best way to learn), but left carving for awhile when she married and started a family. With her youngest son entering school she was hoping to get back into carving just at the point when the Hoffs "discovered" her work through mutual friends. They all agree it was perhaps 'fate' stepping in (again).
Her sense of line and form and her attention to detail "brings out the personality of the piece." We know that the patrons of Maine Bone Carving will be assured of the same high standards in her work as they have come to expect from Val and Gerry.
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