Local Bill Mounsey sits in one of his ski chairs outside his shop in Wolcott, Colo.


WOLCOTT, Colo. – Bill Mounsey lives in a trailer in a sheep field near Wolcott. His trailer, insulated with hay and barely, holds a bed and a TV. On a chilly September morning, a large fire beside the trailer kept him warm.

Mounsey is a self-proclaimed starving artist, and his works – chairs made from skis – sit around his outdoor workshop next to his trailer.

Mounsey considers himself a true artist, not simply a furniture maker. He said the skis lined around his trailer are his brushstrokes.

‘‘I can’t get it out of the mind,’’ he said. ‘‘This is all I think about. This is how I’m wired.’’

His work is quite unconventional, and he believes he’s the only person in the world who makes furniture completely out of skis, but it’s fitting for Eagle County.

Mounsey, 33, has been making the chairs for more than a decade. They can found scattered around the valley, at Shop ’N’ Hop in Eagle-Vail, at Venture Sports in Avon and at Vail Ski Tech in Lionshead.

He has just returned from a two-year hiatus from building ski chairs. Mounsey said he drove around the country, exploring to determine whether he was meant to do something else with his life. Ultimately, he decided he wanted to make ski chairs.

Now, Mounsey has redoubled his efforts, built a Web site and is trying to sell his creations for much more than he did in the past because he believes he is the greatest ski artist in the world.

‘‘I’m the Van Gogh of ski furniture,’’ Mounsey said.

The chairs are made from nothing but skis and bolts. He gets old skis from a used-ski drop-off bin in Vail. He also buys them, recently purchasing a few hundred at the annual rummage sale.

Mounsey said he assembles designs in his head, never bothering to write them down. He must consider the color of the skis, their shapes and how comfortable the chair will be.

To make a single chair, Mounsey might use 18 pairs of skis, which he cuts with precise measurements. The result is a chair that’s comfortable, sturdy and unique, he said.

‘‘What you have is one of a kind,’’ Mounsey said.

If all of the variables align correctly – the colors, sizes and cuts – Mounsey will produce the perfect chair.

‘‘Maybe one out of seven will be perfect,’’ he said.

Mounsey also uses snowboards to make chairs, though he shies from those designs because he said they quite simplistic. He also makes benches and sculptures from skis.

He got the idea for ski chairs when he saw a chair in Vail that had a wood frame with skis attached. After experimenting with that design, Mounsey discovered he could make chairs exclusively from skis.

His creations sell for hundreds and even thousands, and he’s sold to people on the East Coast and in Australia. Mounsey is hoping to broaden the market with his new Web site. As a bonus, Mounsey’s ski chairs can actually slide down a snowy slope.

Mounsey said he is preparing for a cold winter in his trailer, and he may have to escape to more conventional shelter for a month or so this winter. But he will keep building ski chairs. As a bird is meant to fly, Mounsey said, this is what he’s meant to do.

‘‘I’m going to try it until the very end to be recognized as the world’s greatest ski artist,’’ Mounsey said.

ON THE NET:

Vail Ski Art: http://www.vailskiart.org