You can never take for granted the assistance of friends and fellow artists. This grouping of images stems from suggestions from my wonderful friend and fellow artist, Linda Gall. I had been whining about the increasing loss of abandoned buildings in Columbus. So Linda suggested an exploration in her hometown of Zanesville.
Zanesville has an amazing arts history. It was once the center of art pottery back at the turn of the century with several major factories. Weller, Roseville and American Encaustic were just a few of the names.
In spite of this, their days have past. A downturn in the economy left the town struggling. But still there are many wonderful locations that now attract my artistic interests.
Much of this session involves two old homes. The first was an old white house that stood at the edge of town that had been gutted in the hopes of restoration. It was surrounded by a sea of poison ivy. Luckily I was able to get some disposable leg gaiters that allowed us to easily march through the minefield. Still, my model had to be careful around certain areas of doorways and the ground floor where the ivy was pushing through.
The best part about this house was the open framework. This allowed amazing angles and situations suggesting an invisibility of the structure. It was an interesting play on man interacting with his home environment.
The second house Linda found was more finished. The empty home also had signs that it was awaiting rehab yet still retained much of its original character. It wasn’t as raw.
I was more fascinated with the stairs and wonderful fireplaces. Of course signs of ceramic heritage abounded.
In the end, these locations have disappeared like so many others. But the images survive offering a greater memory.
