HOW TO GO
What: Hamilton Prime Club Art Show
When: Through June 20
Where: Partners in Prime, 140 Ross Ave., Hamilton
“The one thing I’m not is an artist,” said Ray Fuerst. “I can’t draw a straight line.”
He said this, however, in front of a table full of dozens of wood carvings in a variety of subject matter and styles, from a simple bird — “My first carving,” Fuerst said — and floral bas reliefs to complicated knots and chains and even a dark, stylized snake that doesn’t even look like it had been done by the same person.
The table also holds at least a dozen ribbons, one of which is an elaborate “Best of Show” from the Butler County Fair, which Fuerst said he got from a cane that he had carved.
Fuerst is one of eight artists in the Partners In Prime art group that will be displaying their work in the dining room there through the end of the month.
“The art group has been meeting for about a year,” said Julie McCarthy, Partners in Prime wellness coordinator.
McCarthy said the group is the remnants of an art class that had been conducted by Sister Maura Barga, who will display her own work at Partners in Prime in July. She taught there for about 12 years.
“It was always a dream of hers to have a professional space to showcase their artwork,” McCarthy said. “Being able to do that for her has been exciting.”
After Sister Maura retired, some of her students continued to meet on their own.
“We’re looking to get another teacher here, but we haven’t found anyone to replace Sister Maura yet,” McCarthy said.
Nick Asher, a Cincinnati Bell retiree and one of the eight painters displaying their work, also denies his artistic skills, but said he finds painting to be a good way to relax.
“I started painting around 2004,” he said. “I just joined Partners in Prime and someone was telling me about the painting class, so I thought it might be interesting.”
His landscapes, including a Hawaii-inspired beach scene, come straight from his imagination, he said, and he scours the thrift shops for suitable frames.
Fuerst also turned to art after retirement when a friend compelled him to join the Butler County Woodchippers, a group operating out of the Fitton Center for Creative Arts.
“I started carving on this bird and asked what it was supposed to look like,” Fuerst recalled. “They said, ‘When you’re done, you’ll know.
Lois Schrantz, who was an art teacher for 40 years in Fairfield City Schools, is also a regular member of the woodcarving group.
Schrantz said that she did a lot of stone carving in college, but has found woodcarving a lot easier.
“My first piece was in granite,” she said. “You need a lot of muscle for that.
“Wood carving is better than sitting in front of the TV,” she said, “although I can sit in front of the TV and do some carving, which makes a good mess.”
About the Author