About
About Congo Joe Studio
Congo Joe Studio is not my primary means of making a living. It is a passion of mine which
I hope to grow and develop into my retirement livelihood. At the present time I work on these projects on an “as time permits” basis. I do not always have everything shown in stock but
usually can make it in a couple of days depending on material availability. Since I am a
one-person operation and also have other work and family commitments, please understand
when I give you a proposed schedule of delivery. Congo Joe Studio is a registered business
in the State of Texas and so for local sales I must charge sales tax. Out of state sales over the Internet are not subject to sales tax.
Head over to the buying/pricing page for more information about ordering and pricing.
About Congo Joe
I am married to my high school sweetheart and have helped raise two grown children. I
have lived over 30 years in Congo, Africa; growing up there first as the son of American
missionaries and then living there for 15 years as an adult. The experiences of my youth,
living on remote mission stations and being intimately included in the culture and lives of
my African friends have obviously had a profound influence on my life. I speak English,
French, and Lingala fluently; remember much of my childhood Lonkundu and know just
enough Portuguese, Kikongo, Tshiluba, and Swahili to order a beer, find the bathroom,
and get myself in and out of trouble. Both of our children were born in Zaire which has
since reverted to one of its former names, the Democratic Republic of Congo. (Formerly the Belgian Congo, formerly the Congo Free State.)
Since returning to the United States in 1993, I have worked as a Special Education teacher in the public schools for 10 years and consulted as a Behavioral Specialist. I have been, and continue to be, a volunteer firefighter for over 15 years. I was the Volunteer Fire Chief for six years and the paid District Manager for the Fire District for five years. I currently work half-time for the City of Dripping Springs as the City Inspector, time and a half for my wife, and the rest of the time for myself in Congo Joe Studio.
I have many and varied interests in life including languages, music, world cultures, history, puns, humor, creative writing, antiques, African art and diverse types of original handmade art. I love good tools and especially old, good tools. I am an eclectic; dabbling in most all types of construction and handiwork. One of my passions is metal working, including cutting shapes and welding using mostly recycled materials which is what brings us here.
Cape buffalo
The cape buffalo is known throughout Africa for its strength and intelligence. It is considered one of the most dangerous animals to hunt. In African lore, mythology and ceremonies, certain animals are used as symbols to invoke their powers for use in the here-and-now world. Since I work mostly with metal, I use the buffalo as a symbol of strength and intelligence in order to transfer that power to my work. In the Lingala language the word makasi means strength, which obviously applies to both buffalo and metal. My little joke with this is that a stylized buffalo and the word makasi were used as the logo and the trademark of a covert CIA dummy transportation company operating in the Congo in the 60s.
Here are 10 surprising facts about cape buffalo.
The original artwork of the buffalo head used by Congo Joe Studio was drawn by Dev Turnbull, wife of a high school friend of mine, Mike Turnbull.