We are excited to have Rhonda Inman as a part
of our next Artist Spotlight installation.

ARTIST STATEMENT & BIOGRAPHY

I enjoy creating treasures out of reclaimed trees, even small pieces my husband can’t use. I started back in 2006, creating Christmas ornaments on the scroll saw and turned ornaments on a lathe. Wood has its own beautiful grains, so each ornament is unique. I look forward to creating new designs over the upcoming years.

WHEN DID YOU BEGIN MAKING ART?

2006

WHAT DOES YOUR WORK AIM TO SAY?

Quality and uniqueness

WHO ARE YOUR BIGGEST INFLUENCES?

Darrell Hoot, Bob Bahr, Cindy Drozda, and Steve Krumanaker

WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

The grains of the trees and customers that request certain designs that they love

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE PIECE OF ARTWORK THAT YOU’VE CREATED?

It’s hard to pick one design. I love the Elk portrait – 2 layers 2D I made on the scroll. I also love my Crown of Jewels – 4-sided ornament with keepsake box.

HOW DO YOU WORK? WHEN DO YOU FEEL MOST CREATIVE?

I come home after an 8 hour job and work for about an hour. Then I work the weekends in our shop as much as possible with the radio loud, playing country music, and singing while sawing.

WHAT IS YOUR MOST IMPORTANT ARTIST TOOL? IS THERE SOMETHING YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT IN YOUR STUDIO?

Scroll saw and mini lathe/small lathe tools

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN A WORK IS FINISHED?

When sanding is done and the right amount of finish shines through

WHAT’S YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT?

Nothing really bothers me, but there was one time when my scroll saw blade broke, my wood piece caught on the blade and jumped, then my fingers got smacked by the scroll saw. Ouch. That was in front of 25 students.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO AN ARTIST JUST STARTING OUT?

Practice, practice, practice. Plan on a lot of practice pieces

Thanks, Rhonda! Come check out her art on display through December. We are open Friday 5PM – 8PM, Saturday 4PM – 7PM, and Sunday 1PM – 4PM.

Interested in being in our Artist Spotlight? Send us your work!
We are looking for 2D and 3D artists to feature a selection of their work on a 3-month rotation.

Check out previous Artists here!