RANGELEY — For artist and craftsman Vincent Richel, getting started usually means heading down to the edge of the water.

Scouting the shore’s of Mooselookmeguntic and other lakes in the Rangeley region, he collects the interesting pieces of driftwood that wash up on shore. He has used driftwood to create uniquely rustic furniture, clocks, lamp sconces and most recently, sculptures of animals.

Gathering the raw materials can mean a day of mucking through mud and water, hauling the heavy, soggy wood to his truck. He might see an animal in the driftwood right away, or simply find something that looks interesting enough for him to take back to his studio and see what he can make of it.

“Sometimes it just pops out,” said Richel, who first thought of creating an animal out of driftwood when he found a piece that resembled a heron. “I can look at a piece of driftwood and know that it goes into a bird or a piece of furniture.”

Branches could be legs for an animal or table, a knot could be an eye, there may be beaks or feathers hidden in the patterns of the wood.

“Some of the forms have been in nature for a hundred years,” Richel said.

Seasonal storms churn wood up from the lake bottom every year, so he is able to find new pieces in the same places. The wood becomes almost rock hard underwater, making it a special challenge for the artist to work with.

After Richel finds the material that he wants to use, there is still a long way to go before it becomes a completed sculpture. In a lamp sconce he is making for a customer in New Jersey, he has shaped several separate pieces of driftwood and joined them together so they appear as a seamless piece. The screws and nails — and the artist’s hand — are hidden. A bird sculpture may take Richel up to a week to craft in his studio.

“This owl’s been haunting me,” Richel said, producing a carved wooden clock he’s been working on. Though not a driftwood piece, the work shows the meticulous detail that Richel puts into his work. He has incorporated zebrawood, and maple for feathers. As in his other works, he prefers the natural color and pattern of the wood to paint or finish. The yellow of the owl’s talons come from yellowheart; the ends of the claws are dark ebony.

Inside his studio, Richel has a large array of woodworking machinery along with ventilators in the ceiling to suck away dust.

For two weeks in 2001, this place was his home as he worked to complete a centerpiece commissioned for then Gov. Angus King’s conference table. The piece was a full-sized map of the state, displaying mountains and streams. Richel estimates that he put 130 hours into the work.

“I was being fed down in my shop,” he said.

He put the lacquer on the night before it was to be presented to the governor.

When not working on driftwood sculptures, some of Richel’s other work has included a commissioned kitchen interior that he has spent six months creating. Many of his creations, such as cabinetry, use exotic lumber. He has made a brisk trade selling ebony wedding cake toppers based on silhouettes of the bride and groom. In the meantime, he paints oil landscapes.

In town, he has work displayed at the Birds of a Feather Gallery. Using his own website and sites such as Etsy and Flickr, he is able to attract customers online as well. Now his customers span the United States, and as far away as Singapore.

Once the owner of the Highland Art Gallery, Richel believes it’s hard for local artists to find spaces to display work. Aside from The Gallery At Stony Batter and The Birds Of A Feather Gallery, Richel says it is hard for local artists to be recognized and their work displayed in town. He used to own the Highland Artworks Gallery in Rangeley before he sold the property.

Richel lives with his wife, Tamara K. Richel, a painter who also has work in the Birds of A Feather Gallery. Their son and daughter-in-law, painters in their own right, live on the second floor above Richel’s studio. Richel makes the wooden frames for the other artists’ work.

Recently, injury has slowed his output but he still makes a point of putting in four to five hours of work a day at his studio.

“I like to stay busy, even when I’m injured,” Richel said. “I’m one of those people that can’t sit still.”

Richel started with art in the ‘1970s when he did paintings in New Mexico. He later went into home building, owning a construction business in New Jersey. After he hurt a tendon in his arm doing drywall work, he moved to Rangeley in the early 1990s where he started doing furniture and finding driftwood. He started creating animals two years ago and is excited about the direction he is going with it.

The Rangeley pace of life suits him. His house looks out over Rangeley Lake toward Bald Mountain. He keeps seeds on his deck for birds and chipmunks. Henrietta, a local spruce grouse, comes by often, he said. Once he had a black bear visit, who would come by for his peanut butter sandwiches.

In his natural surroundings, with family nearby and driftwood waiting in his studio, Richel is happy being settled where he is.

“For once, I don’t want to move,” he said.

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