The Artist

JAMES A.CHUDZINSKI

James Chudzinski was born in San Diego, California, in 1957, the 4th of 6 boys  Although his father was a Navy officer, the family never left Southern California and finally settled in Orange County.  This is where James grew up and honed his skills: first as a builder, then as an artist.

By the age of five, James was showing a natural talent for taking things apart and putting them back together.  He soon started building go-carts and wooden forts.  He then moved on to construct mid-sized bird and snake cages, eventually escalating to larger structures that housed hawks and owls.  Later in life, his love of wood moved him to produced fine furniture.

Instinctively he knew how to put things together. He was always confident that if something could be built, he could figure out how to build it.  His hands-on approach to life guided him into his occupation; a landscape contractor.  Building and creating became an integral part of his daily livelihood.

After spending 30 years raising a family and carving out a successful career, he then turned his attention to the fine tuning of his designing and manufacturing skills.  Always fascinated and drawn to the medium of wood, he now had the time and the mindset to transform his talents, his instincts, and his affinity with wood into an art form.

Mr. Chudzinski soon became a recognized California artist known for his mastery in the medium of wood. He creatively transformed tree trunks and stumps into vases and bowls that embodied all the natural beauty that wood possesses.

Although successful, he still wanted more from his art form:  more dimensions, more purpose, more usability…more functionality.  He then turned his attention towards music, specifically percussion.  Creating a drum intrigued him – it merged the aesthetic with functionality to ultimately produce “functional art”.  Now, the quality of his work could be seen as well as heard.  

James Chudzinski intentionally chose to create his first solid snare drum from scratch.  He did not rely on books.  He had no mentors, nor did he want any.  He started without any in-depth knowledge of the instrument and had no knowledge of the history of drums.  He had no preconceived ideas and proceeded without the advice from “experts”.  James immersed himself in the re-creation and re-invention of man’s first musical instrument, the drum.