We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Andy Rice. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Andy below.
Alright, Andy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I had a terrific art teacher in my father. He was absolutely fearless about his own abilities. So he taught me to learn. He’d been dead for years before I ever built my first Steampunk lamp, but I can feel his guiding hand on every project I attempt. I see absolutely no sense in trying to speed up the learning process. In my experience, doing so invariably makes you miss something. .
My Pop had three rules to any project, no matter what it was: 1) have a plan 2) Know how to fix it (because your plan will turn to dust in very short order) and 3) Know when to quit. These three rules are the basis for every new thing I attempt. So specific skills such as soldering, shaping metal and wiring -while important – are only the physical manifestation of the 3 rules. In short, WHAT I learn is nowhere as important as HOW I learn.
Since the advent of the internet, obstacles to learning have all but evaporated, leaving only self-doubt as an impediment to learning. And even THAT can be overcome.
Andy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’ve always had hobbies. They’ve ranged from guitar to bicycling to hunting and shooting sports. But getting sober in 2000 launched a real restlessness. When we moved to a new home 10 years ago, I was presented with an opportunity to build a small studio in the back of my garage for a guitar sanctuary. In it, I placed a couple of Steampunk lamps I’d built on a whim. Over time, friends of mine who’d admired the lamps began donating weird, rusty artifacts that could be made into more lamps. Then I watched a few Youtube videos on making bonsai trees from copper wire and the Tiny Shop was born.
Now, I’m busy most days after work, creating copper roses, bonsai trees and lamps that I sell directly from my shop. (My day job is as a radio host in my hometown) It’s not a thriving, bustling business, nor do I want it to be. I’m 63 years old, nearing retirement and I’m looking forward to days filled with long, rambling walks with my Pitbull/Boxer, Blaize, puttering around the Tiny Shop on projects and giving my college-aged daughter whatever wisdom I can.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Repurposing old, worn-out and otherwise useless objects into something that evokes joy or wonder.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I cheated. For about 40 years, on and off, I’ve been a radio personality in my hometown. It’s a small town and I’m well-known here. So I just leveraged my personal Facebook presence into a new page for the Tiny Shop. That said, I’m a geezer with little inclination to keep up with all the new social media platforms. I stick with Facebook for that because it’s easy. So I would highly recommend that you use me as an example of what NOT to do to get famous. Get onto every platform available, make friends with small mom-and-pop stores who may want to display your art, enter the open-class competitions at your County Fair. Be Fearless.
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Image Credits
Photo Credit: The Tiny Shop