The name "Acrewood" was born when Tami was two years old. Wayne and his wife Kathy had purchased nearly three acres of woodland property just outside Crescent City, CA, the year before. Whenever weather permitted, they went there to clear a space in the center big enough to build a house some day. Tami loved to go and play in the dirt. (That's Tami and Wayne in the photo above where the future driveway would be.)

One day as they worked, Tami asked, "Is this our Acrewood?" (Yes, her favorite storybook character was Winnie-the-Pooh!) From that day on, the Briccos began calling their place in the woods "Acrewood". They even named their big, fluffy Birman cat, Pooh!

Acrewood has been the inspiration for much of Wayne's art. Its redwood and spruce forest mingled with alders is a wonderful setting for his wildflower and woodland pieces. When he drew his first picture of a trillium for Tami (Trillium Sanctuary), a new creation began to take form, and with the completion of Debbi's wild bleeding heart (Delightful Heart), "Acrewood Art" came into being.

Wayne especially enjoyed drawing the ferns in the pictures for the girls, so when the time came to create a logo, it was only natural to use the beautiful, lacy "lady fern". When he first drew it, he wasn’t thinking about what kind of fern it was. Now he laughs and says, "Not only is the rest of the family female — even my logo is a lady!"

In 2010, Wayne and Kathy returned to Oregon where they grew up and went to college at Oregon State University. They now enjoy living in Albany, in the heart of the Willamette Valley.

By the way, Wayne is thrilled to finally have another guy around, since Tami married Scott in 2006. Scott's photography has even been the inspiration for one of Wayne's drawings, Returning Home.