Handmade Guitars a Labor of Love

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - One man is finding art in handmade guitars. This University of Memphis professor spends thousands of hours on each project, and simply gives his works of art away.

For Mark Conley, his love is for sanding and cutting and clamping, and making guitars. He's all about the details, because he's a perfectionist.

"There are basic standard principals that you can't violate, and if you do, you are in trouble," said Conley.

In the last six years, this University of Memphis School of Education professor has built 35 guitars, most were for musician friends, and most, he has given away.

Conley has given away around thirty guitars to musician friends, and others he's donated to charity for auction; specifically his favorite charity, the Madonna Learning Center for Special Needs Children.

"The heart that these kids bring to everything they do, and the dedication of the staff, I mean, you just can't feel anything but good about it," said Conley.

Ultimately, he would like to sell them, but even after building 35 gorgeous guitars, he doesn't feel like he has them perfected just yet. Part of that is you have to keep making them.

"Because I wanted to make sure they were up to a level of quality that if I feel good about them, somebody would pay me for them’ or something like that," said Conley.

If you are interested in checking out Mark Conley's work, he has a website full of his guitar work at www.markconleyguitars.com .