About Us

Mark Behme is a Washington, DC based artist. He started as a painter with many shows in the DC and NYC area in the 1980’s and 1990’s. He became a well-established figure in the DC arts scene. In November 1980, Mark won the grand prize Corcoran Gallery of Arts, Beaux Arts Masquerade, Washington, DC., and Andy Warhol was the juror. Mark transitioned into sculpture work using various materials and his preference became working exclusively with wood. He had a retrospective of his large body of work at Montgomery College. MD in the fall of 2011. The show was called “Limelight” and it showcased work he had done over the past 20 years. Mark is married to Mary Ann Behme; they live in Silver Spring, MD with their pets.
When Mark met John Boulet, they discovered they both had a great passion for turning wood pieces into functional musical instruments. After creating several art pieces together, and seeing the positive reaction of others, they became a solid collaborative team. They have ventured beyond just musical instruments, to incredible abstract as well as figurative sculptures and relief carvings.

John Boulet comes to woodworking from his passion for making acoustic instruments. Through his love and practice of the flamenco guitar, he began making cajon drums, which have become a staple of flamenco percussion. His acoustic explorations also inspired him to begin making koras, a West African Harp-Banjo. His koras are constructed with a drum and resonator attached to a long neck and strung with nylon strings (like a flamenco guitar). Additionally John makes an instrument he calls a “float”, by floating a large soundboard between springs and drum heads. The resultant resonant system is easily sounded by bowed strings (cello, bass, etc.) or other exciters.
Woodworking has been at the core of all the instrument building so when John met Mark, there was lots to talk about. Mark had been carving guitars and saw many opportunities for carving on John’s instruments. John realized that he could contribute to Mark’s artwork by creating laminated combinations of contrasting hardwoods and plywood. They’ve been having fun inspiring each other ever since.