By Pamela Dozois
Contributing Writer
Richard Motz is a woodworking craftsman from a by-gone era, a charming and weathered character with an artistic bent and a wry sense of humor.
He has carved the majority of business signs on Bell Street in Los Alamos, including the Old Days signs at the north and south ends of town. He’s also built nearly all the furnishings for Full of Life Flatbread, one of the many popular eateries in Los Alamos.
Sitting on a stump of wood in his workshop, smoking a hand-rolled cigarette with burning embers falling, he was asked whether his long, ZZ Top-like beard had ever caught on fire. “That’s how I keep my beard trimmed,” he answered glibly.
“I’ve been doing finish carpentry for about 42 years and have been carving for 30 years or more. I started making wooden cutlery — forks, spoons and such — and small carved heads, one of which I call Avo Man because I carved it out of avocado wood. I had fun carving it, so I just kept doing it,” Motz explained.
“Once a small boy of about 3 or 4 asked me what I was doing and I said carving a foot. He happily extended his little foot so I could use it as a model. I can carve most anything I see. I can’t carve from memory, though. I need a model.”
While enumerating the many businesses for which he has made signs, Motz also mentioned that he does reproduction work. He is working on reproducing the handrails and griffins for the entrance of the Victorian Mansion on Bell Street.
“This project is very intricate. It requires a great deal of time to duplicate the swirls and geometry needed to recreate these handrails,” he said, gently stroking the wood while explaining what needs to be done “to get it just right!”
Motz was born in San Francisco at 11:30 p.m. Feb. 28, 1944, which was a Leap Year.
“If I’d have known, I would have waited the half hour, then I’d only be 19 now instead of 75. It sounds better,” Motz joked. “But I wouldn’t want to be 19 in this day and age – everything now is about money. That’s not what I’m about. If I enjoy the job and the people, I don’t care about the money, just doing a good job for the customer. I like to make a living doing what I like to do best – carve.”
Motz attended two boarding schools as a boy, which he says “were not the highlight of my life.” After he left school he went to Santa Barbara to live with his sister, and then his brother, which he said, “didn’t work out too well.” He lived in his car for a long time, parking on the pier at night.
“It got cold and foggy out there, but the cold got me up early. Living indoors, I used to have two alarm clocks set 15 minutes apart, just to get me up in the morning. Now I have a wife. I sleep well. My wife says I die at night and I’m reborn in the morning,” he joked.
Motz has been “married” to his wife, Shelley, for 42 years. He says they had planned on getting married but time flies.
“I need to finish this job I’m working on so I can get back to making some money so we can get married,” Motz said. “Shelley has some health issues she’s dealing with at present, so I guess it’s time.”
The couple moved from Santa Barbara almost 12 years ago, buying a motor home with some money Shelley inherited, with the intent of moving to Northern California. They got as far as Los Alamos and that was it. They’d found where they wanted to live.
“I liked Los Alamos because it was a small, quiet town, but now it has changed a lot. Lots of the old-timers have moved away – there’s hardly any of the old community left,” Motz said sadly.
“I’d say Richard is half artist, half craftsman, and all crazy,” said his friend and landlord, Jerry Gorman. If he had power tools he would get the job done in no time, but he insists on using antique or ancient tools. He likes doing things the old-fashioned way. He’s loyal to his principles. I sometimes come out here late at night to find Richard carving away.”
“He’s carved his own little niche but he pays a price — poverty,” said Gorman.
“I’m just an old guy doing old things the old way,” Motz said.
“I stayed because I can make somewhat of a living, and that’s what matters. I like the people here. Thanks to my friend Jerry, we live in a little bit of heaven secluded by beautiful mountains and majestic rows of trees. It’s a nice place to grow old.”
For more information on Motz and his work, call 805-698-2685.
