By Eleanor Skelton
Woodcarving has been Richard Spinney’s hobby for half a century. He creates both abstract and more realistic pieces with all types of wood.
He carves and his wife paints some of his finished pieces.
“I just finished a couple of seagulls, and they’re about half life-size,” he said. “We’re doing a flying pelican. We’ve got a frog’s head that sticks on the wall like Kermit, and I hope for the show I have a hammerhead shark head to hang on the wall.”
Spinney’s woodcarvings on display this month include some wooden clocks, different shapes and sizes and exotic woods, he said.
“[It’s] things that are different than what you normally find,” Spinney said.
Although Spinney’s woodcarvings are branded as being from St. Nick’s Workshop on his website, he said he had to stop being a mall Santa last year due to the pandemic after almost two decades in the role at Parkdale Mall.
“The Beauty of Wood” pop-up gallery is just wood-themed, he said. There’s not another underlying theme that ties these pieces together into a collection.
“The beauty of wood is the wood itself,” he said. “I’ve got 24 frames about 6 inches by 6 inches with different woods in between, probably about 12 different woods, and they’re exotic woods. They’re all a beauty in itself, so why not show off the wood?”
Some of his carvings will sit on pedestals in the Art Studio’s show, but the seagull and the pelican will hang from the ceiling, Spinney said.
“I’ve got a hawk looking down over a pedestal and a mouse, and it’s more stylized,” he said. “The name of it is ‘What’s for Dinner?’”
The framed, unpainted wood art is from wood scraps he collected over the last 50 years, Spinney said.
“I’ve been doing woodcarving for 50 years, so you just accumulate,” he said. “Someone might give you a piece of wood here and a piece of wood there. Some you know what it is, and some you don’t. Some, it’s odd and different. I just tucked it away, and every once in a while, you get inspired and you grab it and go to work.
“Just like any other artist does, they grab a canvas and throw a little paint on it and see something in it.“
Spinney said his pieces are reasonably priced because he’s not trying to make a living from his art, just support his hobby.
“I do what I like to do, and I do what I think people will like,” he said. “I do it because I enjoy doing it because it’s fun. And if you happen to like it and want to pay a few bucks for it, I’m happy to do it.”
Spinney said he was inspired to do his framed wood art after seeing another pop-up gallery of painted hot dogs by Kevin Clay at the Art Studio in July 2021.
“I had a lot of wood that never gets used, and I had to think of a way to use it,” he said. “I’m not really interested in hot dogs, but I thought I could do the same concept with wood.”
“The Beauty of Wood” will be on display at The Art Studio’s pop up gallery from October 1 through October 30. On First Thursday, Oct. 7th, 2021 5-8 PM the public is invited to it’s official opening. Entry is free along with refreshments.
For more information about Spinney’s woodcarving, visit www.stnicksworkshop.com.