One might wonder, how many people who know Jimmy Criddle as lead pastor of Columbus’ First United Methodist Church realize he is also a dedicated mixed-media artist? He’s not big on tooting his own horn, so it may come as some surprise that the minister in the pulpit on Sundays is often busy weeknights in his workshop or studio at home. Pastor by day, artist by night — that’s one way Criddle described himself as a show of his woodwork silhouettes, plus some paintings, opened this past week at the Columbus Arts Council’s Rosenzweig Arts Center.

Criddle’s layered work in wood breathes life into everyday shapes like birds, fish and guitars by combining color and reclaimed materials gleaned from architectural salvage sites, or just the side of the road. And it pays to take a closer look: Criddle’s backgrounds often incorporate a tidbit of paper, a portion of a hymn or a vintage advertisement — remnants of memorabilia that touch a deep memory for the viewer.

This minister’s foray into the art world began seriously about 10 years ago, but the seeds were planted long before that. They trace back decades, to the landfills of Calhoun County and tinkerer’s workshop in Houlka.

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“My appreciation and passion for art is a confluence of a lot of influences in my life, and probably the two most important were my grandfathers,” Criddle said. “My maternal and paternal grandfathers had hobbies and passions that influenced me because I spent a lot of time with them when I was growing up.”

The preacher’s maternal granddad was a “picker” in rural Calhoun City, often letting young Jimmy accompany him to the local refuse dump.

“I remember going with my grandfather to take the trash, and while we were there, he would aways pick up recyclable stuff,” Criddle recounted. “I guess he lived by the mantra that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

Watching his grandparent pick through old appliances, metals and what-not, occasionally throwing something in the back of the truck, made an impression.

“I guess I’ve always been a picker by heart,” said Criddle, whose silhouettes celebrate reclaimed and recycled materials. “I love old things. I love junk.”

Anyone of similar persuasion knows the siren call.

“It just kind of gets in your blood. It’s the journey, the architectural salvage, the vintage ephemera,” Criddle explained. “I enjoy finding and collecting just as much as I do putting it in the artwork.”

His paternal grandfather in Houlka was great at working with his hands, repairing small engines and rehabbing such as lawn mowers and weed eaters on weekends, letting Criddle tinker alongside him on his own projects.

“I’ve always loved working with my hands,” said the self-taught artist. “I picked that up from him.”

Criddle was influenced, too, by his father, also an artist.

“He loved to draw in pencil,” he relayed. “I don’t know why, but he always drew the homes we lived in, and looking through those always inspired me.”

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By 2008, Criddle had been in ministry about 10 years. He was also open to a fresh outlet to add to life outside church work, something that would spark his imagination. A visit to the Gumtree Festival in Tupelo, where he lived then, did it. An avid fisherman at the time, the pastor was drawn to Frank Gee’s use of the Japanese art form of gyotaku — fish impressions on rice paper. He came home and began trying the same. In time, visits to more juried festivals and art galleries fueled his exploration of other techniques and mediums. That eventually led him to silhouettes in wood and, today, with patrons from Austin, Texas, to Atlanta.

“I’ve learned to do everything I do from looking, from watching other people,” Criddle said. Simple principles have guided him along the way: Never be afraid to try something new; practice until you succeed.

His silhouettes merge layers of materials including birch, memorabilia, acrylic paints, gels, tar and wax to create distinctive pieces that connect past and present. They make up about three-quarters of his current Columbus Arts Council exhibition. The rest consists of his abstract paintings.

“I’ve never seen any folk art like his,” said Columbus Arts Council Gallery Committee head Karen Arzamendi. ” … His backgrounds are collage and they relate to the theme of the subject matter of his cutouts, which I didn’t even realize until I started looking more closely. It’s subtle, he makes it all relate.”

For Criddle, one great reward in his work is meeting people, hearing their stories, their reactions to his pieces and those subtleties they often contain.

“You create something, but you don’t create the meaning. The person who appreciates the art for what it is creates the meaning in it,” he said. “I will put things in my work, whether it’s a yardstick or a hymn, and people are drawn to things because it helps tell their story.”

The art he makes — and the art he collects — help tell his story, too.

“Art is so meaningful in my life; it helps me express myself in a way that other people find meaning in,” Criddle shared. “I found art to be a way that brought recreation to my soul. It has been life-giving to me over the years. It’s fed my soul in a different way.”

Editor’s note: Criddle’s exhibition, along with paintings and ceramics by Victoria Bailey of Hamilton, are up through June at 501 Main St., Columbus. Current gallery hours are 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday. Visit jimmycriddle.com, columbus-arts.org, or call 662-328-2787 for more information.

Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.