Spirits in Wood and Stone

by Jen Rinaldi

One of the nicest things about living on a mountain is finding the living spirit within the forest around us. I have always been drawn to rocks and pieces of wood and cannot resist picking up unusual pieces of wood and stone while Sully and I hike so I can bring them home and find the hidden life within them. Much to my husband’s consternation, I often forget that odd shiny stone in my pocket, which winds up in the washing machine. After a tumble in said washer, they end up in bowls in my studio, ready to become something else. 

I have been painting on rocks for several years and still cannot resist a smooth stone in an unusual shape. Those stones call out to me and often make the best pet portraits. I have even had clients bring me rocks they have found for me to paint their portraits on.  I have painted hundreds of stones, and each of them is unique. I couldn’t ask for a more exciting canvas than smooth rock or jagged sandstone. Finding the right animal for the right shaped rock is the secret to a successful stone painting, but after painting 20 stones for the last show I was in, I decided that my dog Sully and I deserved a day off. I needed to switch gears and do something more physical.

While Sully and I were walking, I found a beautiful old juniper tree that had been hit by lightning and had exploded, leaving chunks of charred wood in a circle around the burnt trunk. Luckily, the tree hadn’t caused a fire but had just burned down into the ground. By the looks of it, the juniper had been dead for many years when it had been hit, its gnarled trunk like some twisted torso screaming for peace. I couldn’t resist the tree’s call to me and packed a few pieces back with me. When we got home, I brought the wood to the basement so that it could dry while leaving my stones piles by our back gate. 

Inspiration struck me about a week later. Upon examining the chunks of wood, I saw an owl within the grain and charr of the first piece. I placed the irregular piece of wood in a vice, took out my rotary cutter, and began to clean the surface burn enough to see where the creature lay buried. With careful work over the next three hours, I started roughing out my owl’s shape. As I dug deeper within the piece, I found the heart of the wood was slightly damp. The deeper I carved, the more the smell of the juniper enveloped me. It had me smiling as shards of it stuck to my face shield and bandanna. Even in this tree’s death, its heart was still alive and ready to take on a new existence. 

The image of the owl seemed to jump out so quickly it surprised me. It was then that I remembered the glass eyes I had purchased from a carving supply house, and I took a break and went upstairs to see if I had a size that would work before I carved further. 

The largest size I had fit beautifully, and with the eyes in place, I was able to finish up the proportions of the owl. Once I was sure that most of the rough details were to my liking, I removed the wood from the vice and brought it over to my Foredom rotary tool for the finer details. The beak, the eye sockets, and the claws came quickly with the smaller device. I ensured I didn’t slip with the tip, as rotary tools tend to roll away from you if the edge of the bur’s tip gets clogged with wood fiber. 

When I was happy with the details, I went over the owlet with a rough sandpaper to give the beak and claws a smoother appearance. I left the feathers on the owls’ chest and head rough so that they would have the formation of new growth, such as a baby owl would have at that age. I wanted this to remain a little folksy, so I refrained from adding too much detail or sanding too much. 

I brought the sculpture to my painting table and began to layer colors into the damp wood. With browns, reds, and whites, the baby came to life. It took me another couple of hours to bring out the colors in the feathers. When I was finally satisfied, I put it outside to dry.

When the carving was dry to the touch, I sanded the bottom and applied a light coat of sealer to protect the wood from splitting. I look forward to seeing what the next juniper piece holds in its heart!

Recycling things from nature always is exciting. If you want to learn to sculpt or paint rocks, you can take a class at Mountain Legacy Gallery with me this fall! Or come see my work at Made on the Mountain at St. Mary of the Angels Catholic Church on November 4th or The Women’s Club’s Cup of Cheer in December, which is at the same location in the St. Joseph’s Family Center. St. Mary of the Angels Catholic Church

 1915 South Penrod Lane Pinetop, AZ 85935 

or visit our website @ www.rinaldiarts.com