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 The Vietnam Memorial Traveling Wall passes through downtown Wapakoneta Wednesday, September 1. Staff photo/William Laney By CARLA MEYER
Staff Writer
For 45 minutes, the roar of motorcycles could be heard passing under an American flag hanging from two ladder trucks. For 45 minutes, area residents gathered in the shadow of the Auglaize County Courthouse and Wapakoneta Fire Station waved and clapped as motorcyclists rode by.
The smiles and waves turned into clapping and cheers as the Vietnam Memorial Traveling Wall passed down Willipie Street on its way to Custenborder Field in Sidney where it was greeted by a field of American flags.
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Canvas of opportunities: Local architect's first love is art |
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Monday, 24 August 2009 |
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By MATT NICHOLS
Staff Writer
Hand John Rausch a blank canvas, and the possibilities become endless.
Whether it’s pencils, chalk, oil or watercolors, the 59-year-old Wapakoneta resident has a knack for producing award-winning artistic pieces, most recently taking top honors in the annual St. Marys Art Fest.
Sitting in the Riverside Art Center where many of his pieces pepper the walls, Rausch told the Wapakoneta Daily News his talents at the easel became evident at an early age.
“I really do believe I was born with a gift,” Rausch said. “Ever since grade school it was basically known that I could draw. I had an artistic talent.”
Today, Rausch, who is an architect with the Minster based Garmann-Miller & Associates, still thrives on transforming stark white canvasses into vibrant landscapes and realistic portraits.
Rausch dabbled in art all throughout high school. After graduating from Ada High School in 1968, he went to work as a draftsman, and eventually got involved in civil engineering. Well into his 30s, Rausch finally decided to utilize his drafting skills and enrolled in The Ohio State University and Columbus College of Art and Design, and at 41, became registered as an architect.
It was a late start for Rausch, but he said he was better prepared for the monetary hurdles college could bring.
“I wanted to wait until I was established, and I had a job and could pay my own way,” Rausch said.
He began work with Garmann-Miller in 1995, and during his tenure has designed a number buildings throughout the area, including the Auglaize County Administration Building.
Rausch said he enjoys the challenges his job brings, but nothing beats his first love of drawing and painting.
“There’s just a lot of satisfaction out of doing a piece,” Rausch said. “When I’m doing art, it’s a relaxing thing. After I’ve been working all day, I do art and everything just goes away.”
Rausch brings a camera with him wherever he goes, and while on his travels with the architectural and engineering firm, he periodically stops to shoot photos he deems as interesting landscapes.
Using those photos, Rausch will paint or draw the scene in a style his own, or emulated from a favorite artist. The method generated his favorite piece to date — an Amish farm nestled in the heart of Hardin County.
“There was a lot of haystacks that were put up in a wheat field,” Rausch said. “I used a real loose method, emulating Van Gogh. It came out really nice.”
The relaxing hobby also has brought Rausch accolades in the art community. Two weeks ago, a piece that began as a practice exercise ended up garnering best of show in the St. Marys Art Fest. Rausch has had success in the event in year’s past but had never taken the top award.
The unique piece, titled “Front Elevation” featured a penciled eye, nose and mouth with an overlay that made the facial features appear like a working drawing, with hand-lettering that Rausch said harkened back to the old drafting days before computers.
“I made the central nervous system appear like the electricity, the lights being the eyes and the nose and mouth being the heating and cooling,” Rausch said. “It’s very unique, and that’s why the judges liked it.”
Rausch said the drawing came out of practice session during one of his classes at the Riverside Art Center. The session focused on facial features, and when Rausch took his work home, he had a drawing of an eye, nose and mouth and not much else.
“All I had was three-quarters of a face, and I thought, ‘What am I going to do with that?’” Rausch said with a smile.
During the course of two years, Rausch added more to the work, and when he was satisfied his piece mirrored a draftsman’s project, entered it into the show.
“I’d let it go for a while, and then I’d go back to it,” Rausch said. “I was sure it would get in (to the show), but I was surprised I won best of show. I didn’t expect that.”
The piece sold for $350 in the show, and Rausch said he is never sad to lose a piece, no matter how much he favored it.
“If I don’t sell them, they’re going to sit around and gather dust,” Rausch said. “So I’d rather somebody buys it and gets use out of it. And it makes me obligated to keep working and make another one.”
Sitting on the Riverside Art Center Board of Trustees since its inception, Rausch has been heavily involved in the center’s growth. He occasionally gives classes at the center, and despite his artistic achievements, still takes classes.
No matter how good someone is, there’s always something to learn, he said.
“I’m always learning,” Rausch said, “and it’s a way for me to get out and do stuff. If I don’t have a schedule where I have to be someplace, I’m working on art.”
Spending most of his life creating realistic pieces, Rausch said he wants to now tackle the world of surrealism, a medium that brings a whole new set of challenges.
“It’s something that makes you think a bit more,” Rausch said. “Instead of looking at something and drawing it or painting it, you think of something and you make a statement. I want to do work where I’m saying something without necessarily using words.”
As he continues to learn and evolve his own artistic styles, Rausch said one thing will always be a constant — his desire to fulfill what he says is his ultimate obligation.
“I do think I have an ability, and I do it,” Rausch said. “I was given a gift so I feel it’s an obligation to do it and to share my teaching and share my work. It’s what I was meant to do.”
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 25 August 2009 )
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