About

Benjamin Ayers was an artist and woodworker who was born & raised in Cooperstown, NY.

After graduating from SUNY Purchase with his BFA, Ben worked in a variety of creative fields, applying his innate passion for the arts to his professional pursuits. While living in Brooklyn, NY, he worked as an art handler, crown mould fabricator & restorer and theatrical set designer. Ben later moved to the West Coast, spending time in the Bay Area before settling in Portland, Oregon. While there, he worked at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry and later at Portland Vital Signs, as a Display Designer & Fabricator. Finally, Ben spent several years helping build and maintain facilities for a thriving local restaurant group. In July of 2025, his love for his hometown called him back East, and he relocated to a beautiful piece of property in Fly Creek, NY with his family.

As an artist, Ben worked primarily with acrylic on canvas, in addition to his passion for wood & metalwork sculptures. Privately, he delighted in creating with his two young children, drawing endless inspiration from their collaborations – a part of their daily ritual. While remaining dedicated to his studio practice and public-facing artistic pursuits, it is also noteworthy how much of his art was generously shared with his friends, family & community, painting signs for local businesses, gifting paintings to his friends & family to celebrate special occasions, and handmaking wooden toys to celebrate the births of his loved ones’ children.

Ben lived his life through a creative lens, while always remaining centered around his children, family and community above all, realizing that ultimately, he didn’t need the spotlight to become a larger-than-life lighthouse – and in his radiant light, everyone in his orbit too shone brighter, came to know themselves better, learned by his example to love a little deeper.