I have been photographing old wooden boats at The Center for Wooden Boats since well before the South Lake Union neighborhood in Seattle was transformed and overtaken by Amazon buildings and the businesses that feed off of its employees. And before digital photography was on the scene. And before many other people began creating photo cards.

At that time CWB was just beginning to take shape from the humble dream of founder Dick Wagner. CWB is now a unique treasured hands-on maritime museum in the city of Seattle that provides a variety of programs, one of which benefits underprivileged youth by teaching skills and crafts related to boat building and sailing… the building blocks of gaining confidence and self-esteem. And it is a ‘living history’ museum where you can experience some of the exhibits during a ride on the water.

Lines, colors, the textures, stories and simplicity in the shapes of the boats and the beauty of the weathered wood is what drew me to photographing old wooden boats. I now have a collection of hundreds of unique boat images and have sold thousands of photo cards at the center through the years.

Change continues to brew at The Center for Wooden Boats. The crowded little gift shop is bursting at its seams and gleaming new buildings tower around it. Soon it too will have its own new building: the Wagner Education Center will open spring of 2018. And I began a new process with my card-making. After years of hand gluing thousands of wooden boat images to card stock I recently delivered printed boat photo cards that are being sold in packages of 5 tied together with raffia.

With all of these changes in store at CWB, the previous Executive Director said “…it will become a little less hidden of a secret”. (Another secret–free boat rides every Sunday in the historic vessels.) Get ready to witness the fulfillment of one man’s simple dream, to be discovered in the ‘Amazonian Jungle’.