Raymond Bock Boxes at Smith Galleries

What do you do when you think technology threatens to make your profession extinct? At best it presents a career changing opportunity. For those who have design skills and some old fashioned spunk, it can be just what is needed to turn a career crisis into both a totally new career and a new lifestyle.

Ray Bock studied design and photography at the Illinois Institute of
Technology where received a BA in Design in 1981. For the next ten years he worked in commercial photography, first as a photographer’s assistant and then as the manager of the dye transfer printing department in a commercial photo lab. It was the emerging popularity of digital photography that caused him to consider turning his serious furniture making hobby into a new career. Not only did he decide to change careers; he and his wife left their Chicago jobs, purchased a farm and moved to Viroqua, Wisconsin, where they have been for the last 25 years.

In the early years Ray focused on designing and making custom and limited production furniture. While rewarding, the time spent on any one piece left little time for experimenting with new designs and construction techniques. Since 2008 Ray has been making small, architecturally inspired boxes in exotic and figured solid woods and veneers in addition to elegant elliptical hardwood and veneer bowls. His small boxes are made of fine woods and have

both elegant shapes and interesting added embellishment. His combination of woods and metal accents are both striking and functional.

Ray has exhibited in many national craft shows and recently was included in the prestigious Smithsonian show. Country life agrees with this city boy, and his second career has brought out his talent for designing in wood.

See more of Ray's boxes available at Smith Galleries.

Smith Galleries is located in the Village at Wexford, Suite J11 (UPSTAIRS), on Hilton Head Island. Gallery hours are 10 - 6 Monday through Saturday. 843-842-2280

Creative Crafthouse Puzzles by Dave Janelle at Smith Galleries

"Stomachion Puzzle" worlds oldest
known puzzle. Invented by
Archemedes (287-212 BC)
536 Solutions

There’s just something about a puzzle that captures our interest. I can remember when our daughters were toddlers they were fascinated by puzzles and would sit and work them over and over. As they grew, their puzzles became more complicated. Now as adults, they still enjoy puzzles. Time and time again we see that adults have not lost their love of jigsaw puzzles, brain teasers and mind bender puzzles. That is why our puzzle counter in the gallery is one of our most popular with men and women alike, but particularly with the men. The star of the show is the work of Dave Janelle at Creative Crafthouse. Dave runs a primarily family

"Calibron 12" invented by
Thomas Edison's son Theodore in 1933.
Object is to get all 12 pieces in the square.
One solution - very challenging.

business and produces one of the largest collections of wood games and puzzles that I have ever seen. Some are old and some are new; some are original and some are reinvented; some are relatively easy and some are indescribably difficult. But all are well constructed and provide lots of mind stretching, thought provoking, and brain teasing fun.

"Shut the Box" ... created in the
14th century. Great game of reasoning
and math to play with children...they
will beat you.

One hundred years ago puzzles were a very common form of entertainment. With the advent of the electronic age many of them have been lost or forgotten. Dave is bringing back a lot of those puzzles that were known to for their power to develop the mind’s ability to think critically, visualize steps to problem solving, and stretch the imagination. Let us not forget that feeling of accomplishment when we finally succeed in solving a particularly difficult puzzle. So thank you Dave for reminding us that we don’t have to have batteries or wi-fi to entertain ourselves and help keep our minds active.

"Rhombus Five" is a great
desk puzzle for executives. Use all five
pieces to make 29 different shapes
inscribed on the wooden box.
Very challenging.

See more puzzles and games by Dave Janelle here.

Smith Galleries is located in the Village at Wexford, Suite J11 (UPSTAIRS), on Hilton Head Island. Gallery hours are 10 - 6 Monday through Saturday. 843-842-2280

Vintage Girl at Smith Galleries

Everyone knows the power of words. We have all experienced the feelings of both joy and sorrow and probably anger by something someone has said to us. And very few among us have watched a certain greeting card company’s television ads without coming close to shedding a tear. Words have the ability to make us feel and sometimes someone else’s written words express those feeling better than we can, or else greeting cards would not be so popular. Add a picture to the words and make it more permanent by putting it on a plaque and you have Vintage Girl Designs.

Friends feed the soul.

Michelle Defillipo (pictured above) is a North Carolina artist and writer. Her combination of words and images shows us a range of caring and expression of ideas that we want to share but may not be able to do on our own. Michelle graduated from East Carolina University with a degree in art. For the last sixteen years she has combined her words with images that speak to us. Maybe her experiences come from her roll as a mother of three, or maybe they come from the eye and heart of an artist. But whatever their

Where there is peace you
will find balance.

source, Michelle makes it easy for us to give to others an expression of feelings on love, friendship, courage, fear, and just about any other emotion you can imagine.

The various sizes of the plaques make them just the right size for giving. There’s sure to be at least one that is perfect for someone you know.

See more Vintage Girl Designs here.

Smith Galleries is located in the Village at Wexford, Suite J11 (UPSTAIRS), on Hilton Head Island. Gallery hours are 10 - 6 Monday through Saturday. 843-842-2280