Dog Paw Arts embraces the beauty in the ashes

Rick Johnson, owner of Dog Paw Arts, began creating art three and a half years ago, after Johnson discovered the wood-burning technique that would become the centerpiece of his work, online. Photo by Julia Wolf

By Julia Wolf

What started as a random find on Facebook, turned into  a well-known aspect of the art scene in the Chippewa Valley. Rick Johnson is the owner of Dog Paw Arts, which is based in Eau Claire. He creates wood artwork by running electricity through it.

“I spent time researching it and everything,” said Johnson of the technique.

Once he got started making pieces, Johnson says his friend commented she had never seen pieces like that at craft fairs and suggested he go to one.

“We went and it was a big hit,” said Johnson.

Johnson has worked on the pieces seven days a week, for about 12 hours every night, in the three and a half years since.

One of Johnson’s more popular pieces, are hearts with burn lines through them. He says the idea for the hearts came from a lady who caught him at a show and told him the burn lines reminded her of the vessels in a heart, before asking him to make some.

Johnson has also done variations of the heart, where he breaks the heart in half, then laces them with wire to mend it.

The process for making the signature burn lines on his artwork can be deadly, so Johnson doesn’t like to share the details. He says the process amounts to electrocuting the wood.

“You have to watch what you’re doing every minute,” said Johnson.

Johnson made the machine used to make the designs in his artwork, where two wires come off the machine and he places one wire on each end of the board. From there, he puts an electrolyte liquid down on the board and flips the switch.

“A lot of people think it’s actual wood burning, with, like, a pen-type wood burner,” said Johnson.

Johnson says it is possible to control the shape the burning occurs in, but he doesn’t for his pieces.

“Wherever you put the liquid, is where it will burn,” said Johnson.

For example, Johnson could draw a smiley face. First, the outside circle would burn. Then, he would have to re-adjust the probes for the eyes and the mouth.

“Usually, it burns from both ends,” said Johnson. “I do a technique where it burns from one end, to look more like trees.”

He puts the top probe on a wet cloth, to short it out.

“But, the other one still wants to burn up to it,” said Johnson.

He says he has to watch where the water drips so he doesn’t stand in it, and ensure he doesn’t have a metal belt buckle or snap on his pants, because the electricity can jump.

“You don’t get a shock,” said Johnson. “It stops your heart instantly.”

After the wood has been burned, Johnson goes over the wood with a wire brush to clean out the ash.

The next step, is to put any panels in the piece has together.

“I burn each tree separately, each panel, and then I try to match them up so it looks like it burned across,” said Johnson, adding he tries to do that with every set he makes.

A back is then put on the artwork.

To add color to the wood art, Johnson uses Rit fabric dye and alcohol ink. He says he thought to give the dyes a shot one day, otherwise his work was just plain wood-colored.

“People just fell in love with them,” said Johnson, of the colored pieces.

Johnson then finishes the pieces with a clear coat. He says the process of finishing a piece can take a few days, since some woods really absorb the finish.

Johnson’s work area is about a 10x10 foot space, and has a vent system to remove the smoke and fumes from the room. He says COVID caused some difficulties, in terms of his ability to get the wood he needed for his craft. There were also fewer craft shows during the pandemic.

A boxer Johnson used to have, inspired the name Dog Paw Arts.

“He was real shy of everything, but when I started doing this, it was like he knew how dangerous it was,” said Johnson. “He’d stand next to me, like he was going to protect me.”

Johnson says he wanted to name the business after the dog, but figured the next dog would get jealous. He says Dog Paw came to mind and the name stuck.

Despite only selling his artwork at craft shows across Western Wisconsin, Johnson’s pieces have gone worldwide. He has artwork in the Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, and almost all 50 states. He says word of mouth brings most of his sales.

“I never did a day of art in my life,” said Johnson, of before he started the business.

Johnson worked on vehicles before starting Dog Paw Arts and was more into tinkering than art, but when it comes to new techniques or challenges, he says he just likes to figure it out.

“Two years ago, I taught myself how to paint on canvas,” said Johnson.

Johnson says he makes a wide variety of things, whatever pops into his head.

He also paints on wood, using the grain of the wood to give the effect of ripples in the water, as well as plywood carving, which creates wavy lines that appear metallic.

“The different woods they use to make the plywoods, give off different colors,” said Johnson. “It’s really cool.”

Johnson also hand-polishes rocks for jewelry, as well as filing down nuts to create rings. He says most people have a lathe to do those on, but he does not, so he does them by hand.

When it comes down to it, Johnson says he does what he does, because people like it.

“It makes people happy,” said Johnson.

Those who would like to keep up with Johnson’s latest work and where he will be next, can do so by following Dog Paw Arts on Facebook.

[caption id="attachment_259379" align="alignnone" width="300"] Rick Johnson, owner of Dog Paw Arts, used scrap pieces of wood to create a rendition of the four seasons. Photo by Julia Wolf[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_259380" align="alignnone" width="300"] Rick Johnson also taught himself how to paint on canvas about two years ago. When it comes to learning new skills or solving challenges he encounters, Johnson says he prefers to just figure it out. Photo by Julia Wolf[/caption]