David Mills

Teaches at Staten Island MakerSpace

BA: HumboldtState University, Arcata, CA 1974
MFA: SIU, Carbondale, Ill. 1977

David  picked up his first bow in 1960, the year he turned 10, at summer camp in Oregon. The instructor took a half hour to explain how to shoot a bow, how to hold the arrow, to aim, pull and release. His first shot was a bull's eye which sparked a lifelong love of archery.  Over the course of his career as a custom furniture maker and restoration carpenter, he made several bows from sticks to tree branches with varied results.  A few years ago, He read a book about Gengis Khan explaining how his mounted archers were instrumental in his ability to conquer most of Asia, which started a desire to learn proper bow-making skills and to build bows. When he started researching how to make wood bows, He kept seeing mention of making bows out of PVC pipes, until He got curious enough to try one myself.  Now 25 or more PVC bows later, He have yet to see one fail beyond repair, and would like to share my knowledge and the experience of building and shooting your own bow.