At age 15, Cameron became fascinated with the art of bow-crafting upon returning to the wonderful sport of archery after a long absence. As a traditional bowyer, That is my bows do not use Cams or synthetic material like fiberglass. Often adherence to tradition Bow making is called “Primitive” Especially by those archers who choose to use bows made from synthetic materials such as carbon fiber. Th
ough the label of “Primitive” could not be farther from the truth, there is a great deal of engineering and skills that go into making traditional wooden bows. It not only involves picking a design that works best for the archer but also knowing and understanding the material One is working with and adapting to fit the material’s capabilities. Skills such as tillering, material selection and seasoning have been developed over thousands of years. Wooden bows reflect and emulate the creative ingenuity of humans from some of the earliest bows every found such as those on Otsy the ice man to Fred Bear. As a traditional bowyer, I see myself as part of that proses. I build my bows based on the work of the countless bowyers who came before, beauty, practical, simplicity and elegance. I Strongly believe that it is important to pay homage to traditional styles, yet ad my own flare to each and every bow I make. You will find with my bows that there are often few straight lines and even fewer sharp corners or blocky appearance. I believe that it is necessary to make my bows look and feel organic like an extension of the acher’s own body thus all of my bows have subtle flowing curves and shapes of the trees from which they came. Equally as important to me in the making of my bows, is to match the bow to the archer’s needs not only determining what they plan to use it for, but also how to match the bow to their personal and physical abilities.