Paul Evans bio

Paul Evans was born October 13, 1989, to Mary and Jacob Evans in Flint, Michigan. Paul was an only child, given to bouts of brooding from the age of two. He was shy and found it hard to make friends, though when he did, they were usually friends for life.

Paul was an average student, who put forth little effort in school except in classes where he worked with his hands like Shop and Woodworking, where he displayed real talent. His innate sense of aesthetics, particularly for natural elements such as woods or metals, helped him excel in those classes.

When Paul was twelve, his parents divorced. Within a year, his mother found she simply couldn't support herself and her son because his father never made a single child support payment.

After much soul-searching, Mary sent Paul to live with her parents, John and Carlotta Randall, who lived in Yocona, Mississippi. His grandmother, Carlotta, was a warm and caring woman, who supported Paul in his artwork. His grandfather, John, had a strong work ethic, which he enforced with Paul. From John, Paul learned that if you wanted something, you had to work for it and that pursuing frivolous things in life would only make you weak.

His grandfather was a carpenter with his own business, and he took Paul on as an apprentice while he was still in high school. After Paul graduated, he worked for John full time.

When his grandparents passed away within months of each other in 2016, Paul discovered they had left the carpentry business to him. Unfortunately, Paul had no head for business and preferred to spend time on his woodworking, so the company eventually folded. He resigned himself to the fact that he would never be a big success in most people's eyes.

In 2018, he and some other Oxford wood-turners rented space at the County Arts and Crafts Fair. Paul and the other turners each displayed a selection of the wooden bowls, candlesticks, and other items they had created.

At the fair, Paul met a woman, Angela Wilder, who assured him he had great promise as an artist. She encouraged him to do as many pieces as he could and promised that, when he had enough, she would help him put on his own showing. Though it took him almost a year to create enough of a body of work for an entire showing, he did reach his goal.

At the 2019 County Arts and Crafts Fair, Paul again rented space, this time with Angela Wilder's help, and showed exclusively his own works. This first showing was not a financial success, but it did open some doors for him and encouraged him to continue.

Also at the fair that year, he met a young professor, Kimberly Pace, and was taken with her from the start. She had all of the qualities that he lacked: she was social, easygoing, funny, and articulate. She also had a genuine appreciation for artistic works, including his, and they started dating shortly afterward.

In early 2020, Paul moved in with Kimberly. Even though Paul wasn't an animal lover, he tolerated Kimberly's adoration of her pets. He also developed a close relationship with Kimberly's younger sister, Becky, who he came to think of as his own little sister.

Though the couple felt a deep passion for one another, their relationship was often rocky, primarily because of Paul's jealousies and insecurities. He didn't like her attachments to her students or their endless debates about what he saw as simple yes/no questions.

Paul and Kimberly broke up several times throughout their relationship but always got back together. Whenever they split up, Paul never believed it was permanent because he felt their relationship was Fate. Kimberly was his butterfly, and he was her rock. He was proud that, when her mother became ill, Kimberly leaned on him, not any of her students or egotistical friends.

In addition to carpentry and woodworking, Paul enjoys tinkering with mechanical things, including old motorcycles. He currently has an old Honda, which he rebuilt himself from a broken-down hunk of junk. Still his favorite mode of transportation, Paul's motorcycle has replaced the aging Ford Escort he used to drive, which was undependable and often broke down.

In his spare time, Paul also enjoys running, swimming, and other individual sports.