Born in 1956 in Boston, Massachusetts, Thomas Loeser is a woodworker and art professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Loeser came to art only after completing a BA in sociology and anthropology at Haverford College in 1979. After being introduced to woodworking by a friend enrolled in the furniture design program at Boston University, he chose to follow suit, completing his BFA from Boston University in 1983, and his MFA from the University of Massachusetts, North Dartmouth, in 1992. Loeser taught at a number of reputable institutions around the country, including the Rhode Island School of Design and California College of Arts and Crafts, before landing at UW Madison in 1991, where he has been since. Know for creating both functional and affectionately dysfunctional works in wood, Loeser has garnered numerous accolades, including the Wisconsin Visual Art Lifetime Achievement Award (2013) and several National Endowment for the Arts fellowship grants. He has exhibited work internationally, and is represented within many public collections, including the Brooklyn Museum and the Museum of Arts and Design, both in New York City. Loeser was elected a Fellow of the American Craft Council in 2012.