Driftwood Art by Rick LaRue

Reach (or, from patrons: The Choir; Prayer; The Tip-off; and The Burghers of Calais)
Reach (or, from patrons: The Choir; Prayer; The Tip-off; and The Burghers of Calais)
The Zen Guardian (1 of 3)
Synchronicity (sold)
Driftwood's beauty comes from the forces of nature that create it: sun, salt, tides, wind and time. The Chesapeake is home to a continually renewing supply. I delight in paddling its hidden shores and finding its treasures, new and old. My kayak can hold pieces of driftwood ranging from 75 pounds and 6 feet tall to treasures that fit in your hand. Every paddle is an adventure: What will I find? What will stand out?
Nature creates the twisted grains, graceful arcs and evocative images that I find. Each piece of driftwood is unique. Their great variety is captured in the scores of photos presented in this site's 14 galleries. I also find crab pot buoys cut loose by boat motors. Buoy accents can add a touch of serenity to the magic found at the water's edge. Stone stacking evokes an additional natural sense of place.
My life-long love of wood found special expression when I began scavenging driftwood from the Chesapeake's shores. Finding "Cocheta" in 2013 (see special gallery below) inspired me to preserve and share such beauty. For indoor pieces, I only clean and sometimes oil the wood. For outdoor pieces, I clean and seal the wood. No sanding, carving or altering the shape is involved. My current work involves creating art out of multiple, usually similar pieces of driftwood. Several friends have said that I curate nature's work. In 2017, after 40 years of working in nonprofit Washington, DC, the Chesapeake Drift Studio was born.
On and in my kayak, June 2013.
Scholars' Stones: Gonshi (China), Suiseki (Japan), Suseok (Korea).
Chesapeake Tetons
North Face (sold)
The Main Zen Garden
Sandra Bem's Staff, Horton Crossing the Chesapeake, Untitled and The Staff of Gandalf's Dreams.
In the Zen Garden
Revealing the art that mother nature creates. Contact me for prices, custom orders and delivery options.
(Photographs by the artist and by Keith Kozloff, Takoma Park MD)