Rhonda Minnich was born in Minnesota, and now lives along the banks of the Mississippi River, just south of the tri-state area of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa.  When not woodburning, she enjoys watching the barges navigate the lock and dam, and the eagles, heron, seagulls, and ducks that populate the area.

About Rhonda

Rhonda has been woodburning since 1995. Her father had done wood working as a hobby before his death in 1990.  In 1987, she was diagnosed with epilepsy and was unable to attend his visitation and funeral because she was hospitalized after a grand mall seizure.  As a tribute to her father, she wrote a poem that she later burned into aRhonda's First Woodburning piece of wood from his workshop.  It was her first attempt at woodburning (click the image for a larger view.).  Inspired, she began teaching herself woodburning as a way to help cope with her disease, which doctors had said was inoperable.  This was not the case, and in 2002, she underwent a life-changing operation at Rush Presbyterian St Luke's Hospital in Chicago.

"I use a single tool to do my work," she says.  The intricate details and shading are done by using different surfaces of the tip to obtain the desired result.  She says that "each piece of wood is different, so I must "learn" the wood as the piece progresses."  No two pieces are alike, so they are indeed unique.  Each piece is numbered, signed,  and dated.  After completion, the pieces are sealed to protect them.

General Grant's Home in Galena, Illinois This woodburning of the General Grant Home in Galena, Illinois was done by Rhonda. It is displayed along with the rest of the Grant collection in the Market House in Galena.

 

Contact Information

Creative Woodburning
Rhonda Minnich
PO Box 62
Fulton, IL 61252

815.589.4760
Email

Rhonda is a member of the Chicago Artists Coalition and the Illinois Arts Council.
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