Who I Am

I learned plaster work in New York City while studying for my doctorate in anthropology and history. At the time, it was a way to earn money in summer (my $11,500/year stipend didn't get me far in NYC). It was interesting, we worked in museums, theaters, restaurants and apartments. 

When I moved back to the Twin Cities, I supplemented my (only slightly more generous than a grad student) adjunct teaching salary by taking plaster and paint work in the summers and during 'vacations.' In about 2009, it became clear that adjunct teaching was probably not going to be a workable long term survival strategy and I have been doing plaster and paint work full time since then. 

I have a fascination with well made things, architectural and otherwise. I'm articulate, thoughtful, freakishly well read and paradoxically have been working with my hands since I was a teenager, starting with shoveling asphalt and running a jackhammer. I do this type of work because it's interesting to me and if everybody's got to work, at least I'm not making the world a worse place doing it. 

email: chris@uptownplaster.com