The inspiration for much of Gregg’s work comes from his years growing up in the mountains of Western Colorado, where he spent most of his time exploring along rivers and streams and roaming the mountains and hills. Often while wandering the plateau regions and hills he would find ancient campsites of the early indigenous people who lived in the region, which stimulated a passionate interest in ancient cultures.
At an early age drawing was a favorite pastime and outlet for many thoughts and imaginings, both of the natural world and of other cultures, both prehistoric and contemporary. This became the foundation for what grew into a life long immersion and pursuit of the study of Nature and Culture.
In 1970 he moved to New Mexico where he worked as a field archaeologist for the Anasazi Origins Project, a transitional study of cultures from hunter-gatherers to historic and modern day Pueblo sedentary cultures of New Mexico. His position with the project was that of Long Range Survey in which he was very much at home and familiar with because of his childhood and young adult years in Colorado. He was also employed during this same time period as an illustrator of artifacts and botanical samples, as well as conceptual cultural reconstruction drawings.
Experimenting with traditional stone tool making was not only a favorite pastime but also served as a means to deeper understanding and familiarization with prehistoric cultural life. Flint knapping being purely a reductive process was also the early beginnings of carving and sculpture.
In 1980, after the Archaeological project was completed in New Mexico, Gregg relocated to Washington State. For ten years his primary focus was carving wildlife and subjects of the Bering Sea Eskimo cultures.
In 1989 he began carving Netsuke full time. The merging of the Eastern and Western mythological symbolism began during this time and can be seen in much of his figurative work, especially in his archetypal figures. Representational works of animal subjects have been a constant throughout his carving career and in these can be seen aspects of human personality which stem from Gregg’s personal orientation towards animistic traditions and perspectives which he has had since early childhood.
Gregg is self-taught in all areas of expression, including tool making, drawing, illustrating, carving and sculpture. A continuous research and study of culture, both ancient and contemporary, as well as the study of animal behavior and all aspects of the natural world and humans relationship to it reinforce this and provide an endless source of inspiration.