Rick Wallace is no stranger to taking a slab of wood and carving it out into a visual masterpiece with the ease of a hit man sneaking in and taking out his target. Wallace’s weapon of choice is one not often found on the shelves and drawers of most artists studios. Mastering and pioneering a new type of what I like to call 2.5D artwork, Wallace brings his skills as a wood craftsman to life with saw dust flying and blades buzzing standing behind his scroll-saw in his woodshop-studio.
I recently had the opportunity to work with Wallace and bring to life a couple of Hobo-Eaters for my Live Fast Burn Slow collection in San Francisco. From concept to finish Rick puzzles together a menagerie of cut pieces and slickly pines them off with colors and texture to create what he calls the Scroll Saw Painting. I met with the ineffable Mr. Wallace to discuss how he got started and what inspires this rare and meticulous feat of artistry.
Interview with Rick Wallace | Scroll Saw Painting
Q: How did you get started using the scroll-saw?
In 2005 while visiting my parents I took a trip to my fathers shop/garage.We were working on wood lathe projects and had noticed this Craftsman scroll-saw sitting in the same place year after year. Out of all my father’s shop tools the scroll-saw was the tool I had never thought of using. When I asked him about what could be done with this tool he showed me some of his simple projects and said it was one of the few tools he did not have the patience for. However, my mom used the saw more than anyone. I quickly sketched up a star on a small piece of walnut. After breaking a blade or two and some practice I started to get the feel for the saw and found a love for the diversity of patterns that could be cut. Doing research and picking up publications such as Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts assisted in guiding my direction with pattern making and I thus began down the long loved road of scroll saw creations.
Q: Why do I integrate painting & staining?
Traditional cutouts are beautiful and skillful but can lack color and texture. Cutting a traditional scroll-sawn pattern is almost like your working on something your grandfather would do, what I like to call the Old Folgie style. I began thinking about more modern media that could be integrated into the scroll saw work to break away from the ‘old style’. Adding color with paints, stains, and dyes gives brings new life to the creation and produces effects that accentuate the details of the woodwork. In the early days of my work I met fellow scroll saw artist Dave Danchuk who helped inspire taking the work to a new level. His style of work also used multi-colored cut out pieces that pushed the levels of scroll saw work and thus remained with me as a reminder that I too could push the limits of this unique tool and application. Since my founding of the revived art I coined a term for my own work as dutifully as Scroll saw Paintings.
Q: What inspires your work?
Ever since I was a kid visual art has had a great impact on my life. There is so much room to grow, learn, and be inspired. From concept to final creation it is the process and fruit of my labor gratifies and allows a great sense of pride. Pursuing my creativity through these completed accomplishments is a place where I can be myself and find genuine peace of mind.
Q: What is your favorite scroll-saw creation?
My favorite creation is a 911 Tribute I produced by means of intarsia. On the side of Scroll-saw Painting would be a recent Jimi Hendrix tribute piece.
Q: Any big projects on the horizon we should be looking out for?
I have few surreal Dali-esque drawings I did years ago that I plan on stylizing into cuttable patterns. Mixing glass work, found objects, and lights is something I’ve done in the past with a few of my own surreal inspired pieces. In the near future I plan on incorporating more of the mixed elements and furthering my experimental style. Those projects take a bit more planning, but nonetheless look nothing like anything done before.