"A man who works with his hands is a laborer; a man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman; but a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist "
- Louis Nizer

My sister had this quote framed as a gift for our father, a master carpenter, when he put his heart into creating beautiful furniture. I was delighted to find it on Raymond Papka's website.

Ray is a research scientist (PhD in Anatomy and Neuroscience) who has reinvented himself as an artist. To a life-long love of wood, metal and discarded items, he brought his knowledge of photography and his technical skills, then added his remarkable imagination.  The resulting artwork is a delight.

"Bookmobile I", at left, is one of my favorites. I love the motion and keep expecting it to roll off the page.

In his own words:

"From my early childhood I have been fascinated with books and unusual objects. Books allowed my mind to travel everywhere and I liked old, dusty, faded books because they had age which reminded me of history. I am attracted to found objects that look as though they have once come from something interesting, belonged to a mysterious family, or that look valuable, but may have had little or no importance to others such as old forks, buttons, old letters and metal remnants.

I always have had collections of small objects, coins, arrowheads, old rusty items, and fascinating "things" in little boxes and cloth bags (my favorite was the old Bull Durham tobacco bags and cigar boxes that I got from the smoke store in my hometown of Thermopolis, Wyoming)."


A visit to Ray's light-filled workshop is a real treat. Shelves of old books wait on one side. Bins, drawers, and boxes hold machine parts, rusted metal findings, sections of old pianos and typewriter parts - it's like a museum of deconstructed history on its way to something new.

"My art is mixed media combining assemblage, encaustic painting, the use of books as substrates and found objects as interesting embellishments.  I like to generate layers of information in my artwork, but keep it mysterious....almost dreamy. My work themes seem to come from observations, happenings, and the influence of science in my life.........

My art takes many forms, but keeps a theme of changes, of layers, of old, of memories, of looking back and of reutilization;  images range from subtle or mysterious to bold and brash."

Ray is currently represented by Bennett Galleries (Knoxville, TN), Black Squirrel (Kent, OH), Laughing Gull Artisan's Gallery (Long Island, NY) and Damselfly Gallery in Midway. Visit his website to enjoy over a dozen more images, including his new 'Pocket Book' series.