When I tell people that I grew up in Ohio, they immediately assume a few things. They see the countryside as viewed on I-75 traveling south or occasionally on I-80 heading east.
This is not the Ohio that I am from. I am from the southeast corner of Ohio, the part with hills and mountains and trees, with boulders that spring up from the ground and hills so steep that I can’t walk straight up them. I come from the part of Ohio that most people do not know.
When J.R. Roberts brought in some paintings a few months ago from his time in Hocking Hills, Ohio, I immediately remembered my home, the place where I grew up, climbing over the limestone boulders and trying to scale the blue shale cliffs that would fall apart under my hands as I tried to scramble up them.
They reminded me of a little fishing hole just down from my dad’s office, Harper’s Hole, where I spent hours trying to catch tiny smallmouth bass and the occasional creek chub, where salamanders crawled up the moist, mossy rocks and crawdads (we never called them crayfish) hid in abundance under every stone. The paintings reminded me of my childhood.
I enjoyed them in the gift shop every time I would walk through. We had them in various places in the building over several months, and J.R. was to trade them out for some of his more recent work. I asked if I could hang them in my office for a little while, and he has graciously allowed me to do that. They sit directly behind me at my desk, so not only will I get to enjoy them but also everyone else will when I join a Zoom meeting.
That is what I really love about art: it can be so much to so many different people. These paintings could easily remind someone of home if they were from the UP, just as they remind me of Ohio.
Art can be many things. It can be therapy from creation or a fun activity with friends. It can be appreciated for what it is or who the artist is. It can remind us of a simpler time, or it can remind us of home, just when we need it most.
P.S. The paintings from J.R. Roberts are still for sale and can be viewed in Matt’s office on the lower level of Artworks.
— Matt Hildebrand is the executive director of Artworks.
