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CAROUSEL RESTORATION STUDIO
I was an art student at UC Berkeley in 1976 when I first met Nina and Maurice Fraley of the Redbug Gallery. My life path changed forever! I started working for them for fun, which quickly turned into a serious apprenticeship with Nina. I learned more from Nina about painting and color than I learned at the University.
MY BACKGROUND
I am deeply indebted to Nina for sharing her artistic gifts, her love of the individual pieces, and her reverence for the history and the carvers who created these beautiful pieces. I changed my art major and eventually graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in American Folklore: Carousel Art & History. In 1978-79 I worked with Nina and Maurice on the restoration of the Herschell Spillman Carousel in Tilden Park, Berkeley, CA.

After working for the Redbug Gallery for 5 years I moved to their son Tobin Fraley’s studio. I was his main painter for 5 years, restoring many pieces for individual collectors. During this time we also completed a touch-up contract on the PTC Carousel in Elitch Gardens, Denver, Colorado.

In 1986 I started my own carousel restoration business working primarily for private collectors, although in 1998 I worked on the touch-up for the Looff Carousel, originally from Playland, now installed in the Yerba Buena Center, San Francisco, California, and will be working on a two year contract for the Dentzel/Illions carousel at the San Francisco Zoo. My main focus is on individual pieces for private collectors. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.