About

Mario D Santilli has been creating custom wood works for over 50 years, and has been selling for about 10 years.  Early pieces were made for family, friends, and charity auctions while maintaining a successful orthopaedics surgical practice and raising three daughters.  Mario was given his first lathe by his wife’s grandfather, George Turner, aka Adalbert Turkiewicz. This lathe dated back to the 1930’s and was used mostly for making spindles at that time. Mario used this lathe for many years and learned the fine art of woodturning.

With his children grown (and after providing many pieces of furniture for each of their homes), Mario has been further honing his craft and developing his fine wood working skills through practice, workshops and seminars.  

Mario was born in Italy and moved to the US in the mid 1950s with his family.  He grew up in Buffalo, NY and has called the area his home ever since.  He met his future wife/business manager/photographer, Chris-Elaine, in high school and they have been happily married for almost 50 years.  When purchasing a house to raise their growing family, they chose one with a large, high-bay basement for Mario's workshop.  He moved his studio to a ground floor space in 2022, which was custom built, along with the new home.

The juried show, 100 American Craftsmen,  accepted Mario every year since 2017. (There was no show in 2020.) Each year, Mario has shown about 200 items with brisk sales. The show is held annually at the Kenan Center Arena, 433 Locust St, Lockport, NY(kenancenter.org) In 2025, he was awarded first place in Leather, Wood and Fiber at this show.

Art in Craft Media 2017 at the Burchfield Penney Art Center  accepted two of Mario's works, “Dozens of Dowels” and “Winged Bowl.”. (See photo below.) His work, “Corona,” was also accepted to Art in Craft Media 2021.

In 2025, his work, “Holiday Cheer” was accepted into the Sylvia L. Rosen Craft Art Biennial 2025 (previously known as Art in Craft Media) and will be on exhibit at the Burchfield Penney Art Center, 1300 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo NY 11/14/25 - 03/29/26.

Mario has also participated in “Art is a Gift” for several years at the Burchfield Penney Art Center. This was an annual juried show, usually held the first weekend in December. Unfortunately, this show has been canceled for 2025.

In 2024 and 2025, Mario has been juried into the Roycroft Summer Festival at the Classic Rink in East Aurora.

To contact Mario, send a message to mds.woodworker@icloud.com , or call 716-713-6853.

Find Mario on Facebook at Mario D. Santilli, Woodworker