Rick Schettino Artworks

"Ladon's Les Paul"

39" x 14", Available, Starting at $1250

It is said that in Ancient Greece, a thicket within the Garden of the Hesperides hid trees of gold guarded by a hundred-headed dragon named Ladon who coiled himself around the trees to protect them. A thicket isolated the golden grove, leaving the treasure frozen in time and hidden from the public. Likewise, the golden vines on this Les Paul will likely keep it from seeing the light of stage. This is a brand new playable guitar, the first of a series of six "Ladon's Les Paul" works.

"Hardin's Pickaxe"

39" x 14", Available, $850

In 1849, in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, a gold digger named James Hardin struck a "mountain of silver." He left the treasure behind, intending to return. But when he did, he found the desert had erased his tracks. Harden went to his grave searching for the mine. "Hardin’s Pickaxe," made of "sky stones" and silver, is a tribute to the lost treasure trove. Plus it's an "axe"... that you pick.

"Gardens of Xochipilli"

Available, $400 sm, $600 lg

In Aztec mythology, Xochipilli is the patron of music, dance, and creative ecstasy. He is depicted covered in sacred plants and flowers that unlocked the creative spirit. Within Xochipilli's domain, there is no boundary; art and nature are the same thing. This diptych is an homage to that absence of distinction. Each one is a musical instrument, but also a mosic of a garden. It hints at a realm where the vibrant scenery of nature and the sound of music become indistinguishable. It is a tribute to the "Flowery Song" - the ancient belief that true creativity is a living, blooming entity that envelopes both the instrument and the artist. These works were assembled from hundreds of bits and pieces of retired necklace chains and jewelry. Some of the flowers are hand-painted to make the perfect blend of off-primary colors.

"By the Light Of the Moon"

39" x 14", Available, $900

In daylight, "By the Light Of the Moon," assembled from thousands of glass beads, seashells, sand, and mother of pearl, depicts hand-carved baby sea turtles dashing toward a breathtaking tropical sunset. As night falls, dual internal and external UV lighting transforms the piece; an internal glow turns the sun into a full moon, while luminous beads create a star-spangled sky. Just as sea turtles are drawn to the light of the moon after hatching, the spectacular sunsets and sparkling night skies called on me to hand in my Free Spirit membership card and settle here on the Florida Gulf Coast.​ After years of roving across North America and living in scores of different locations, I finally feel at home here in the island paradise of the Gulf shore.  

"A Guitar For Hera" (Electric & Acoustic)

39" x 14", Available, $650 each

The Greek god Hephaestus was cast out of Olympus by his mother, Hera, who found him physically imperfect. He spent years in exile honing his craftsmanship in secret to create an incredibly ornate throne encrusted with gold, silver, and diamonds. He gifted the throne to Hera, who was astounded by its brilliance. However, when Hera sat upon the throne, mechanical limbs sprang up and bound her. Hephaestus refused to release his mother until he was formally recognized as an Olympian God. Hera, astonished by her son's genius, capitulated. At a young age, I was lured and bound by the brilliant craftsmanship of Guitar Gods like Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and David Gilmour. While I never reached their levels of fame, I believe they would agree that my decades of dedication to my craft has earned me a seat at the table.

"Hathor's Sistrum"

39" x 14", Available, $650

To the ancient Egyptians, music was a bridge to the divine, and no deity presided over that bridge more gracefully than Hathor. This piece is a modern reimagining of her sacred instrument - the sistrum - used to rattle the heavens and drive away malevolence. (Music is truly magical in that way.)  In the 50 years since I first found my sistrum,  I have helped a small multitude escape from the incessant news of the malevolence in the world, reconnect with the present moment, and let their joy come out  and shine. This piece is the result of building up several layers of carefully curated objects such as jewelry, beads, and filigree onto a layer of fine crushed glass. The entire assemblage is then entombed in solid black. Next, the brass highlights are hand painted. After that, I use an antiqueing process to add a patina and give it a heavily aged appearance.

"Ratatoskr’s Tree"

39" x 14" Available, $750

In Norse lore, the squirrel Ratatoskr is the tireless inhabitant of the World Tree, Yggdrasil. This mythical tree spans the universe, its branches reaching into the nine realms of the heavens, its leaves collecting the songs and stories of the cosmos. As a messenger, Ratatoskr scampers eternally between the celestial eagle above and the dragon at the roots, connecting the divine with the terrestrial. In this assemblage, each ring represents a distant world, and every leaf holds an infinity of epic tales of cosmic creation and destruction. It takes a good size collection of "found objects" and a lot of iteration to put together a symmetrical design like this. It's like putting together a puzzle without a picture.

"Earth To Heaven"

39" x 14" Available, $750

The indigenous peoples of the American Southwest—including the Hopi, the Zuni, and their ancestors, the Anasazi—frequently applied intricate mosaics of silver, turquoise, shells, and polished semi-precious stones to musical instruments, such as flutes, whistles, and percussion instruments. The instruments were thought to be grant the user the ability to communicate with the gods through music. Often bits of red were used to provide a contrast to the "sky stone" and silver, striking a balance between the heat of the earth and the cool of the heavens. I don't encase guitars in "sacred minerals" merely for decoration. It's more than that. It's an ontological transformation, raising the instrument to the level of a sacred object that has merged nature with art.

"Babbage's Brain"

39" x 14" Available, $650

Charles Babbage spent four decades working to build a machine that could think — essentially a steam powered computer. For the Victorian government, his "Analytical Engine" ended up being a grand folly—a sprawling, expensive, and ultimately unfinished dream turned scrap metal. "Babbage's Brain" is a steampunk style tribute to his inventive mind. Interestingly, half of Babbages brain is on display at the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons. Oddly, Babbage loathed street musicians and organ grinders because he could hear them from his lab and it was a distraction. This piece was made by building up layers of gears and everyday objects such as batteries, buttons, and bendy straws over a bed of crushed glass. The assembly is then entombed in black, followed by several layers of dry brushed irridescent colors to achieve a distinctive, steampunk style.

"Encantos de las Hijas" Series

Various Sizes, Available, $275 to $625

The Spanish term encanto refers to charms or small items that are pinned onto sacred objects as prayers, spells, or tokens of gratitude. In the minds of children—the hijas, or daughters—simple bracelet charms such as hearts, stars, and unicorns are sacred objects that encapsulate their hopes and dreams. This series, spanning three encanto-encrusted guitars, a violin, and a ukulele, documents a state where ordinary objects take on magical qualities. In these works, the instrument serves as the sacred repository, transforming a collection of playthings into a singular, sacred assemblage. This work starts off with hundreds of bracelet charms arranged over a layer of pebbles. The entire assemblage is then entombed in black, afterwhich the gold leaf highlights are hand painted. 

"Judy's Seascape"

39" x 14", SOLD

This is a commissioned work. The client provided a variety of personal memorabilia from varios island vacations such as shells, jewelry, beads, and the seagull figurines. I combined these with various found objects and glass beads to create this impressionist beach-at-sunset themed mosaic. To complete the work, I went out and collected several of the smaller shells nearby on Anna Maria Island. This piece includes a UV light attached to the headstock. At night, it lights up a glow-in-the-dark, star-spangled sky. 

"Vines On Viola"