Feature Artist: Larry Ricci

By Gina Malone

Larry Ricci began making furniture for his home many years ago, never thinking of it as art. He continued working with wood through the years, but didn’t get serious about creating on a regular basis until he retired from his career of more than 40 years as a high school social studies teacher and principal in Bucks County, PA, and, later, as an adjunct professor at LaSalle University.

He grew up in South Philadelphia with a mother who worked for the government and was, he says, the smartest person he ever knew. His father, along with Larry’s uncles, ran the family’s Italian corner grocery store. It was he who first put tools in young Larry’s hands and let him make things for fun in his workshop.

Although Larry didn’t realize it at the time, the greatest influence on him as a future woodworker and artist came in 1975. “The woman I was dating, later to become my wife, lived in the cottage house on a beautiful farm owned by Bucks County artist Charles Coiner and his wife Mae,” Larry says. “The Coiners had an addition built onto the farmhouse by George Nakashima and, of course, furnished it with his magnificent work. I was blown away with all of this. I had no idea that furniture and woodworking could be so sculptural. Nakashima’s studio was only 20 minutes away so I was able to visit it regularly.”

Once retired and with more time to spend on his woodworking, Larry began creating furniture and participating in fine art and craft shows in and around Pennsylvania. He and his wife had vacationed in Asheville and decided to move to Kenilworth four years ago, where he makes furniture in his basement workshop, No Walls Studio. “I love living here with these incredible people and being part of the Kenilworth Artists Association,” he says.

Most of his work is natural live edge, and he never stains his pieces. “I think of my work as bringing Nature into the home,” he says. “I love the look, feel and, sometimes, smell of the woods as they come from the forest. I look for woods that are highly figured, uniquely shaped and beautiful.” He works primarily with burls and local hardwoods, intrigued by unique characteristics and imperfections. “Shopping for wood is one of my favorite activities,” he says. “I’ve developed some strong relationships with a few of the small local mills. Sometimes, I see a piece and know exactly what I want to do with it. Other times, I see a piece that I really like and it takes a little while for the wood to tell me what it wants to be.”

After all this time creating, Larry still has trouble calling himself an artist. “When people ask me at a show if I’m the artist, I usually respond, ‘It’s my work,’” he says. “I’m more comfortable with being called a woodworker than an artist.” It’s work that he loves nonetheless. “My time in the shop is my retreat,” he says. “It’s wonderful, peaceful and restorative. I usually have some music or an audiobook going, and the dogs are in their beds by the heater.”

Lucy Clark, owner of The Lucy Clark Gallery & Studio, first encountered Larry’s work at the National Arts & Crafts Conference and Shows, where his work will once again be displayed next month at the Omni Grove Park Inn. “I had been actively searching for a furniture maker for a couple of years,” Clark says, “and instantly knew that his work would be a perfect fit for the gallery. Larry honors the organic nature of the wood with a level of finish and refinement that truly begs to be touched.”

Staying close to nature as an artist and as a resident of the Southern Appalachian mountains is important to Larry. “I deeply believe we are the caretakers of this place, not the owners,” he says. “It is our responsibility to preserve the beauty that surrounds us. Hiking with my dogs on the trails brings this so close to my heart. I hope folks realize that I love doing what I do and take real joy in sharing my work with them.”

Larry Ricci’s work is available at The Lucy Clark Gallery, in Brevard. Learn more at LucyClarkGallery.com. For more about the artist and his work, visit LarryRicci.com. Larry’s work will be featured at the National Arts & Crafts Conference and Shows February 20-22 at The Omni Grove Park Inn.