Advertisement
The 57-year-old wood inlay artist from Fountain City uses the patterns, textures and contrasts of different wood to create a unique twist on the average drawing or painting.
 |
Artist Greg Schuh, 57, of Fountain City, pieces together a wood inlay scene using a photograph as inspiration. Schuh’s art ranges from abstract designs to regional landscapes which he takes from photographs, his imagination or the spoken word.
(Photo by Melissa Carlo/Winona Daily News) |
Purpleheart wood offers deep, warm purple undertones to Schuh’s sunsets. Walnut makes his buildings industrial blue. Zebrawood is his depth and texture.
Schuh has experimented with wood inlay art for two years, but carpentry skills he learned at a young age led him to a new avenue to enjoy his passion for wood.
Schuh specialized in floor inlays for more than 30 years with his wood flooring business Crown Construction. But an accident with a table saw six years ago left him with some time and a bum hand.
He’s an eccentric — he designed mazes at age 13 and keeps a pinball machine in his living room. He discovered his talent for floor design could be transferred to the wall.
“There’s no rocket science,” he said.
Like working on a jigsaw puzzle, Schuh assembles small chips of wood cut into varying shapes and fits them together using glue on a wood substrate to create a picture.
Some of his original artwork and reproductions are currently on display at State Street Gallery in La Crosse, La Boutique Engraving Gifts and More in Winona, Minn., and Slim’s Woodshed in Harmony, Minn.
Ellen Kallies, owner of State Street Gallery, said customers appreciate his craftsmanship and choice of wood.
“People are drawn to them,” Kallies said. “And his reproductions are as exciting as his originals.”
Schuh’s range includes about 20 all-natural wood inlays ranging from abstract to local landscapes.
He uses historic photographs, scenic pictures in magazines and the landscape around him to generate designs.
“Valley Maiden” depicts Winona and the Delta Queen in 1,275 wood pieces with 55 kinds of wood.
With a pencil, Schuh outlines where each piece is placed on a substrate and makes a cutout in wood from large chunk. Some wood pieces are a quarter-inch.
“There are tricks to that little stuff,” Schuh said.
For example, he said areas of wood on his picture that look like siding of a house can be made in bulk by gluing several pieces together and cutting it to size.
As an avid garage sale enthusiast, he gets wood from all over, but several lumber companies like Slim’s Woodshed and Youngblood Lumber Co. in Minneapolis keep him supplied with more than 200 species.
After the glue dries for 48 hours, Schuh runs the wood inlay through a drum sander that gives it a glossy shine.
When he runs his hand over “Simply Wright,” which has 1,264 wood pieces and 60 types of wood, it’s smooth.
The tribute to famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright is a collage of Wright’s buildings, such as the Price Tower in Oklahoma, Fallingwater in Pennsylvania and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. The piece is
Schuh’s prized possession, and it took him a month to complete.
The process keeps him busy as a beaver, but it’s a labor of love.
“You take your time,” he said. “You earn it.”
Contact reporter Amber Dulek at amber.dulek@lee.net or (507) 453-3513.
