Peace of Art

For Tom and Tina Parks, art has become an essential part of their everyday lives.

“Everything we do is art related, even food is art related, music—everything is an art form to us, every day. We live it and breathe it. [We try to] create something every day,” Tina said. 

She is a painter and custom framer. Tom works with metal at scalding-hot temperatures topping 2,000 degrees, all the while sculpting and/or painting. As owners of the White Rabbet art gallery, they both live to create art, and it’s amazing what their talents yield.

Because Tom works with metal, it’s not out of the ordinary for him to do some non-artsy kinds of jobs. For instance, he works as a welder at Lancaster Foods in Jessup from time to time. 

“I think if we got a contractor’s license we’d probably be able to do everything,” Tom said, prompting the couple to chuckle.

Both seem to have the art-is-an-escape-thing down pretty well. Tina can find her own place of Zen while working, and Tom also identified.

“One of the things I do is actually incorporate meditation in every task I do. I focus on one task and try to incorporate that to some degree. I try to actually be in that place in that moment as I’m doing it … I just try to be conscious and present,” he said.

Patch sat down with these artists to learn more about what they do.

Patch: What is your preferred form of art?

Tom: "... Sculpture. Pretty much lately I have been doing a lot of flat surfaces, a lot of copper. But I also do sculptures out of found objects, re-purposing materials. What I really do is I am more a painter of metal. I paint with acids and heat. … I use so many different disciplines working with metal. I don’t just make stuff out of metal; I use different techniques like watercolor techniques with the acid."

Tina: "Painting and custom framing. I have been doing framing for 20 years. I enjoy it. I like finishing where other artists have left off, making art look good for your home, and working with people to create that aesthetic for your house with all different kinds of ideas going on, collaborating with someone else. And I love the history, too, like with military pieces and someone has a story to tell—like their father or grandfather. I love that part of it, too.

"I do canvas painting but I really enjoy painting on wood. That’s my element."

Patch: What kinds of things inspire you?

Tina: "Ralph Steadman [cartoonist and illustrator, best known for work in Alice in Wonderland] and Hunter Thompson [Steadman’s sidekick]. Plus, music is big."

Tom: "Music is probably one of the biggest influences. Without the music, it feels like it’s a chore."

Patch: What kind of music? What's on your iPod?

Tina: "A lot of underground '80s and '90s, not a lot of mainstream at all—mostly underground: dark, industrial, German."

Tom: "I’ve got a lot of alternative on mine. But then again, I haven’t figured out how to synch my library to my Blackberry. I'm kind of behind on that. [Laughs.]

"I listen to just about everything—a lot of original music. I love blues and jazz. Also like her, a lot of '80s, a lot of punk and a lot of metal and electronic. We are not big radio listeners."

Patch: What piece are you most proud of?

Tina: "All the things I did for [famed Baltimore director] John Waters. Working with him is the best. He also did stills from his movies and went on a traveling tour around the world. So I got to have a hand in doing the framing for him. That was cool."

Tom: "That’s like asking the parent which kid is their favorite. I’d have to say that as far as scale of projects go, I would have to say that bar tops are my favorite just because of the level of challenge that they have. The is a triumph, and I also have another bar top that I did for a private party up in Fox Ridge."

Patch: What’s it like when you're in your zone?

Tina: "Everything disappears …"

Tom: "For me it’s a single-mindedness—a singularity, especially if I have my earphones in. Or if I don’t, I just have birds because I’m right on the water, so I get to listen to waves.

"A lot of times I will start out on a piece and I’ll have a lot on my mind, kind of like the oyster that has to have a piece of sand to start making a pearl.

"I usually have an idea in my head or some irritation—a lot of my artwork, I hate to say it, comes from irritation. I say to people: Make me mad, I got to get some work done."

Tina: "That’s when I get out the honey-do list." [Everyone laughs.]

Tom: "Sometimes I’ll start on something and I’ll end up going off in a different direction, and before I know it, there is nothing else going on ... I'm not worried about nothing else that is going on. The noise disappears."

Tina: "All the mundane things go away. For me, my problems disappear and there is no time limit—it’s when that piece is finished or I get to a stopping point."

Patch: Why Havre de Grace? 

Tina: "The water. We like to kayak. We like the water, and the outdoor life and taking walks around the neighborhoods with the gardens and the water."

Tom: "There is a lot here. We have great parks right outside of town, like you could walk and get to a park. Or you could go right out to the river.

"We like to kayak. So we can walk to the water from our house and put our boats in. There’s the proximity of things, just being able to walk downtown here. And there’s lots of other little things, too. There is a certain type of charm here. It’s quirky, it’s got its share of characters, it’s got lots of folk."