Spotlight: The Ordinary Walter
by Cheyenne Dorsagno
The_Ordinary_Walter, as credited on his mysterious Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/the_ordinary_walter/) and exhibit labels, is a hustling painter that loves and represents the growing Utica art scene.
Walt emphasizes his anonymity with the descriptor ordinary.
He compassionately champions The Everyman: “All of us ordinary people… we’re very special in our own way.”
He modestly takes himself out of the equation, appealing to his shy side by letting the art speak for itself. Walt catalyzes self-exploration, letting viewers invent their own story for his work.
In a change of form, Walt put himself in the spotlight with this interview!
Walter Ricci-Wadas was born and raised in Whitesboro. He now lives in Chadwicks and calls the greater Utica area “home”. He values having a local artists’ community, attending a laid-back collective with informal hangouts at Gerber’s 1933 Tavern on Wednesdays.
Walter joined his last name with his wife’s – Alison; she works as a Manager of International Education at Utica University. In Walt’s free time, he plays ukulele. He knits (by influence of his wife – note his self-made scarf in the photo of him). Walt takes care of rabbits (again, by influence of his wife). He conspires about the raccoon-led cult that is Animal Crossing (he has routine stints of cult membership – i.e. he plays Animal Crossing every morning while he drinks his coffee).
Walt has been working at a global bank for ten years, for which he turned down a managerial position with hopes of eventually solely living off his artwork: “Corporate has its lessons … go in there, learn what you can, and get out.”
He’s more focused on shaping his artistic process and point of view.
“It’s an evolving creature of its own,” Walt said.
His lifelong crafting of his distinct voice has paid off. I immediately knew all the pieces in his showing at Gerber’s 1933 Tavern were from one artist.
Prints of these pieces are available at https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/walter-ricciwadas/shop.
Walt refers to the simplified, punchy symbols of people in his artwork as ToW Folk – The Ordinary Walter Folk (pronounced “tō folk”).
He graduated from College of St. Rose in 1996. He said he wasn’t “anal retentive” enough to carry on doing graphic design by hand. Great tactile accuracy was mandatory, since this was before computers were as advanced and as central to graphic design. So, he switched his major to Studio Art, immersing himself in art for twelve hours every weekday.
“Art is a state of being,” said Walt.
He appreciates that the energy he puts into his creations resonates with people.
Walter live painting on Varick Street, 2009. Photo provided by The_Ordinary_Walter.
He described his instinctual artistic process: “I don’t know what I’m doing until I start. I’m very emotional. I’m very expressive.”
“I can’t help but be rough around the edges … I just let it go,” said Walt.
Aptly, Walt likes the immediacy and intimacy of working with his hands and a rag; he likes the texture, layering, and finesse of many mediums – oil, latex, acrylic, paint pens, etc. He has done live painting on the streets by the Nail Creek Pub.
For Walt, creating is compulsory: “Once I get going, I have to physically stop myself. I can go days doing nothing but creating.”
Walt’s fundraiser mural, 2012. Photo provided by The_Ordinary_Walter.
The painted baseball card series. Photos provided by The_Ordinary_Walter.
Walt chooses economical materials.
The painted baseball card series. Photos provided by The_Ordinary_Walter.
He buys the affordable mistints at Lowe’s – the paints that clients returned or that didn’t match client requests. He paints on canvas or found objects. Walt picked items from lawns over Utica’s “junk week” – when locals agree that their curbside waste is up for grabs; this is even how Walt found the wafer board used to create the piece sitting next to him in the first photo. He has also repurposed the baseball cards his dad bought decades ago as a hopeful investment in his son’s future. How these cards shaped Walt’s future just turned out a little differently than Dad imagined. They surely appreciated in value.
Other local artists have the same idea! The Utica Creative Reuse organization repurposes forgotten objects; it promotes environmental stewardship by selling donated and reclaimed materials at pop-up events, thereby diverting “trash” from the landfill and giving it new artistic purpose.
Walt’s art influences Utica.
Walt cited a project for which he was putting art on the sidewalks and telephone poles of Sunset Ave.
He has shown at the Tramontane Cafe in Utica, the Upstate Artists Guild in Albany, and the Gear Factory in Syracuse.
Due to his spontaneous approach to artwork, he didn’t even consider bidding for the mural, which ended up being a $100K project over 90 days. Walt noted that only a few local artists bid to take on the massive endeavor, saying that the chosen artist “did a really good job.”
Tramontane Cafe Utica Mural
Walt’s art may materialize from his meditations on news and history
Photo provided by The_Ordinary_Walter.
One satirical painting, Flipper Meets The Blob (2010), drew inspiration from that year’s BP oil spill on the gulf.
When speaking of his influences, Walter referenced the similarly-abstract artists Rothko and Kandinsky. His favorite “professional” artist is Phillip Guston; his textured, youthful, and simple artwork is strikingly strange yet familiar. Although, Walt most admires local artists like Tony Thompson and Adam Sporodilozzi; learn more about them on their website artordie.live.
Walter, 49, said enthusiastically, “The atmosphere in Utica for the arts community is bigger than it’s been in my entire life so far.”
Walter cited the 4 Elements Studio’s window gallery at 131 Genesee Street. On July 20 2023, the New York Times published about Upstate Art Weekend, saying it’s “bigger than it’s ever been.” There’s also the non-profit Sculpture Space on 12 Gates Street, which provides a creative studio for sculptors.
Mark-Anthony Polizzi’s “Finding Self” display 7/2023, sponsored by 4 Elements Studio at RCIL, 131 Genesee Street. Source: https://www.4elementsstudio.org/polizzi.html
Artspace’s Utica Lofts are anticipated to open between Winter of 2024 and Winter of 2025, according to Project Manager of Property Development Neda Shahghasemi. The 43 affordable-housing units are exclusive to creators; they will sit between the Stanley Center for the Arts and Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. There’s no wait-list yet, but you can sign up for property email-updates via https://www.artspace.org/utica.
Walter has participated in MVCC’s ThINCubator, the resource for Mohawk Valley’s entrepreneurs. They host a free Artistic Refinery series to help creatives shape their business ventures.
“How much art is in the area really dictates how well the area is doing,” said Walt. “Art is a part of life that we all need, and we all partake in it every day.”
Walt is hopeful about the future of Utica, such as with the Mohawk Valley Garden’s $25 million Bagg’s Square Project that renovated the Children’s Museum. Specifically, the farm-to-table restaurant Tailor and the Cook has moved to the historic, newly-improved 311 Main Street building.
Walt concluded, “Big things are happening around here, which is great. This area deserves it.”
About Cheyenne Dorsagno
Cheyenne Dorsagno
Cheyenne Dorsagno is an Italian-American born and raised in underdog Utica, NY. She studied English at SUNY Oneonta with a minor in Professional Writing and an Editor-in-Chief role at the newspaper. Currently, Cheyenne strives to make our big world a little smaller by introducing locals to their neighbors via human-interest pieces shared on her blog, Our Neighborhood. She’s pursuing creative writing in her free time and various freelance writing in her professional time, such as by copy-writing.
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