Todd started learning the art of fetish carving mostly on his own in 1990. A relative made a small bear for him to use as a "guide", and then he "took it from there". His knowledge of rocks came from some Geology classes he took as a geological engineering student. Todd has won many awards including Best of Marketplace at the 1995 Zuni Show of the Museum of Northern Arizona. His dolomite buffalo was selected to grace the cover of the book: A Guide To Zuni Fetishes and Carvings. Vol.2 by Kent McManis.

Statements from Todd: "Since a fetish is believed to have a spirit, as though it were alive, I want people to get a sense of security and happiness from my carvings. Whenever I'm about to work, I put any worries aside and try to have only good thoughts so that those would be passed on to anyone who comes in contact with the fetishes. I've always enjoyed collecting unusual rocks. Now in addition to collecting them, I give them new life. Earlier influences, and an imagination play a big role in transforming ordinary rocks in to the different fetishes.

When I go out looking for materials I pretty much have in mind what I'm going to start working on. If I'm going to be working on corn maidens I go out and look for materials that might be kind of flat and long. When I get home I can just start slicing down, make little slabs and that's how I come up with it. Then there are times when I don't even know what I'm going to end up with. I just start carving away the rough areas and then I look at a shape, like the big lapis corn maiden. I just carved some off the top and smoothed out all the rough areas and it was good already. So I carved out the face, the necklace, and the shawl and it came out pretty good! I carve frogs, turtles, badgers, moles, bobcats, eagles, mt. lions, wolves, medicine and hunter's bears. Sometimes I do turquoise heartlines on them, but lately it's mostly been corn maidens. I'm getting more in to traditional styles. Todd says that the question he is most often asked is, "How long does it take you to carve a fetish?" Observing the care he takes in forming and finishing each piece,an appropriate answer to this question might be, "It takes as long as is required for the carving to be truly finished by his standards."

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