Profiles

• Gary Hanick -
  Co-Founder and President

  • Gary Hanick's creative marketing expertise and interest in expanding the art form of Steel Art Trees has, over the past three decades, lead him on an amazing journey to five continents, and individually cultivated contacts with thousands of designers, architects, and developers. Because of his vision and passion for the advancement of the arboreal art he created, NatureMaker trees are in homes, museums, casinos, hotels, libraries, retail developments, and zoos around the world. Hanick's keen understanding of human nature and his love of design has led the NatureMaker creative

  • team to produce ever more challenging and intricate trees, both in size and scope, while always maintaining the sensitive "eye" he developed through his long association with his partner, celebrated Eco-Artist Bennett Abrams. His involvement with all aspects of the project, from initial conceptual design through installation, represents the passion and care that is the hallmark of the NatureMaker Studio. A graduate of the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Hanick amalgamates business acumen with a great love of art.

• Jim Paul -
  Director of Design and Vice President

  • Jim Paul's unsurpassed knowledge and understanding of both the artistic and the technical aspects of Steel Art Trees has added immeasurably to the design, structural and engineering features behind NatureMaker's monumental sculpture. As a result of Jim's ten-year association with Gary Hanick and Bennett Abrams, as well as his decades-long background as a fine artist, there has emerged a uniquely organized and systematized design and fabrication process.

  • The design methodology that Jim developed commences with hand-rendered, scale line drawings, followed through with structural engineering, in-house custom handcrafted, telescopic tree fabrication, and professional installation. All technical, engineering, and design questions should be directed to Jim Paul.