Carving a new path

Richard Cornelius' small woodcarving studio can be seen from miles away as it sits quietly atop a small grassy hill just south of Pickrell at 710 W. Dogwood Road.

Inside the studio, Cornelius spends hours a day, listening to music and occasionally glancing out the window onto either the vast prairie land or town of Pickrell in the distance, as he delicately carves away piece by piece of a large wooden door to create an original design.

“We're up on this hill because we've got the great view,” Cornelius said.

A year ago, Cornelius and his wife decided to move to rural Pickrell where his parents were born and raised. He then built a house for him and his wife, his father and a studio for his work.

His father, Lee, who is 95, who left the area in the 1940s, can still remember the days when he lived in Pickrell as a boy, including riding the train down to Beatrice every day for school.

Living in Nebraska has been great for Cornelius, he said. He truly enjoys the countryside and the people who live in the area.

Cornelius started his business creating hand carved doors and mantles 14 years ago in Wyoming, he said.

Holding degrees in fine arts and anthropology from Metropolitan State College and Fort Lewis College, both in Denver, Colo., and Washington State University, Cornelius worked as a contract field archeologist for different companies in many parts of the west including Washington, Montana, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah.

His duties included searching for artifacts in areas where pipelines were to be built. He also worked as an exhibits director of the San Juan County Archaeological Research Center and Library in Salmon Ruin in Bloomfield, N.M.

But he decided he needed a new path in life and hand carving doors and mantles was an opportunity he relished.

“I always had a background and interest in art,” he said. “I figured (the door) was a big beautiful canvas.”

Over the years, he had worked as a freelance artist and illustrator producing archeological illustrations, graphics and cast artifact replicas, but Cornelius had little experience carving wood.

Nevertheless, he taught himself the reductive process of wood carving, carving the wood away until you come to your final image or design.

Each door or mantle designed by Cornelius is unique in its own way as they tell a story of the door's owner. He works with the different customers to come up with the idea or design for their door or mantle.

Cornelius said clients will often give him a theme or idea of what they would like to see carved on their door.

“The best carvings are the ones that people take an interest in,” he said.

For example, Cornelius has carved doors with landscapes the client is often greeted with as they look out their picture window or animals they have often been associated with.

“Each door is kind of custom designed for clients based on their needs and wants,” he said.

Because of the detail from clients, Cornelius said he often gets to really know people as he finds out about what interests them, such as their hobbies or where they live.

There are times when Cornelius relies on some of his own experiences to add detail to his carvings, however. Often when the client first mentions what they want, his mind is already thinking about images he has seen in his own life.

Once the doors are carved, Cornelius then finishes the piece with a natural look or with colored stains to accentuate specific design and carving techniques.

He can spend up to two weeks, sometimes longer, carving a door, he said. This year he plans to carve anywhere from 17 to 22 doors, he said.

Cornelius has hand carved doors, mantles, furniture and mirror frames for many different people around the United States. In his 14 years of door carving, he has created 170 doors, he said. With each one, he likes the last one he did the best.

“You better be happy with the last one,” he said. “Then, on the other hand, you better find some problems so that you can attack the next one with an attitude to do better.”

Cornelius said it is crucial to be satisfied and non-satisfied with your work.

“There should always be an element of fear when creating something worthwhile,” he said. “You push yourself, you want the next door or the next project to be the best it can be.”