LINWOOD — Rick Guariglia has experienced many twists and turns on his life’s journey, but one thing that has been constant is his desire to work with his hands — from building houses to crafting cabinets and now creating art.
Guariglia built his house on Forest Drive, along with multiple others locally and around the country with his father and two brothers.
Later he turned to building unique cabinets and children’s furniture.
“Framing walls and putting doors in wasn’t creative enough for me,” he said. “That’s when I started with the cabinet shop.”
He operated Furniture of Tomorrow, building custom cabinetry for homes all over the United States, for more than 30 years.
A drummer from a young age and a huge Beatles fan — in addition to his art studio, he still has a full percussion setup in his garage — he started building unique pieces that incorporated musical instruments.
Guariglia was so successful that he was invited to set up a booth at the National Association of Music Merchants in Nashville.
He said he sent some pictures to the organizer of the NAMM show “just for the fun of it” and “the woman wrote me back and said ‘I would love to have you rent a booth.’”
So he and his son packed up a truck and drove to Tennessee.
A Beatles fan from Virginia heard about him and asked if he could make something for him, so he made a coffee table with an accurate replica of Paul McCartney’s guitar.
However, a series of three car accidents — the last of which occurred on his way to a physical therapy appointment — left him suffering spinal cord damage.
Guariglia underwent multiple surgeries and was able to function through the use of an implanted stimulator, a device that sends low levels of electricity into the spinal cord to relieve pain.
Unfortunately, he said, the stimulator was damaged in yet another car accident and was removed. While he still is mobile, building cabinets is out of the question so he has given up on building and turned to making art to fill his tireless hands.
“That was the end of custom cabinets,” Guaraglia said. “Now I hand-sculpt animals with different themes. Concrete ones for outside, or indoor ones mounted on canvas or wood.”
Guariglia, 68, grew up in Ventnor and built the house in Linwood in 1977 after getting married. He and his wife, Sharon, are the parents of two Mainland Regional High School graduates — Joe Guariglia, 39, and Shaina Guariglia, 28.
He said he has always loved dogs and incorporates them into much of his work. He forms the figures of sculpting compound and plaster and mounts them on canvas and wood.
– STORY and PHOTOS by CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff