Navigating the “current normal”

Navigating the “current normal”

Early in the pandemic, life for us all quickly became scary and chaotic. I will never forget the call I made to my wife Caroline while I was cutting silhouettes in Florida, telling her that I was cancelling my Spring silhouette tour and coming home. I expected her to...
Field study/ How does it really look?

Field study/ How does it really look?

Inspecting a conch shell A huge part of my job as a silhouette artist is field study. I come from a family of outdoor people, and very young in life, was taught not to fear animals and wildlife, but to have a very healthy respect for them. My grandfather knew wildlife...
Silhouettes for grown ups

Silhouettes for grown ups

Dick Ellis, holding his silhouette in Tulsa, OK I’ve often wondered why most people these days are inclined to think that silhouettes should only be for children. When my grandfather was a professional silhouette artist back in the 1930’s through the 1970’s, he did...
Silhouettes of a Lowcountry Christmas Past

Silhouettes of a Lowcountry Christmas Past

When granddaddy was finished with his fall silhouette cutting season, usually just a couple of days before Christmas, he would return to his farm in the South Carolina Lowcountry. He always went hunting to put a turkey or some venison on the table for Christmas. He...
A Handmade Life

A Handmade Life

When I am cutting silhouettes around the country, curious children gather around my table and pick up the delicate shards of black paper that I drop on the floor that are discarded from my silhouettes. They ask me how I make the silhouettes. I explain to them that...
What 90 years of Rice Silhouettes means to me

What 90 years of Rice Silhouettes means to me

Everywhere I go, whether it be Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, or small towns in between, almost invariably, a family shows up with silhouettes that my grandfather or I made of another family member from long ago. I usually see the grandparents standing there from the...