COLUMBUS — In every generation, only a mere handful of artists become well known, making a full-time living from their art. But despite the lack of acclaim, many artists patiently pursue their callings in spare moments for their entire lifetimes, simply because it answers a need which nothing else can fill. These creative acts allow ordinary people to touch upon the extraordinary by capturing vivid moments of their lives in artworks that transmit those emotions to later viewers.
The posthumous legacy of former Mount Vernon folk artists Walter O. and Walter L. Mayo continues with the Sunday opening reception for an exhibition titled “Ordinary People: Extraordinary Folk Art” at the Columbus Recreation and Parks Cultural Arts Center (CAC) at 139 W. Main St., Columbus. The father and son both worked “day jobs” while spending their evenings in quiet pursuit of artistic goals their entire lives. Though both men passed away with little more than neighborhood acclaim, their works have received extensive attention since being presented for public display for the first time in Columbus just a few short years ago, and the new exhibition is already generating a great deal of interest.
“This place has been buzzing,” said Walter L. Mayo’s stepdaughter Sheri-Lynn Flowers Caffey by telephone from the CAC on Thursday, where she was busy publicizing the opening of the show, fielding telephone inquiries and chatting with enthusiastic patrons catching their first glimpse of the show.
Walter Octavia Mayo was born in Marysville in 1878, but moved with his parents to Mount Vernon while still a boy. For many years, he lived on Walnut Street, on the west end of town, near Riverside Park. Like other members of the African-American community in rural Knox County in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Mayo’s life was centered on work, family and church. But his own joyous pastime was found in making woodcarvings, starting with the animals he saw in the countryside around him and soon expanding to feature the animals of traveling circuses passing through town. In time, Mayo expanded his range to carve scenes from biblical stories, such as a beautiful “Ark of the Covenant” topped with gracefully winged angels; as well as scenes inspired by commercial images, such as a grand 16-foot-long assemblage of carvings portraying the “20 Mule Team Borax” brand soap frequently advertised during the golden age of radio. His carvings stretch from early works which may have been carved in the late 1800s, up through later works coming closer to his death at the age of 92 in 1970.
By the 1920s, the Mayo house in Mount Vernon was already well stocked with carvings. As Walter O.’s son Walter Leroy Mayo began growing up, he took to carrying pencil and paper around the house so he could make drawings of his father’s woodcarvings. Throughout the Great Depression, this urge led Walter L. to develop his talents through a correspondence art course. Though he dreamed of becoming a commercial illustrator, the prejudice of the times prevented this from happening. He instead took a job driving a truck for the Schlairet Co. in Mount Vernon, and started a family. Sketching and painting whenever time allowed, Walter L. developed a mastery of various media. His pride in both his job and his artistic technique shine in his painting of a gleaming-red Schlairet truck, tooling down the highway with power and poise, something which will be a familiar image to many local residents. In later years, Walter L. was called upon by his neighborhood church in Columbus to paint banners for festivals, which became in his hands intricate and attractive canvases mixing biblical verse and imagery. Like his father, Walter L. lived to the golden age of 92, passing away in 2000.
The family, wondering if anyone else would enjoy the Walters’ work as much as they did, spoke to Columbus news anchor Jerry Revish shortly after Walter L.’s death. Revish referred them to folk art collector Duff Lindsay, owner of the Lindsay Gallery.
Lindsay was stunned at what he found stored in the family’s garage.
“I think Duff didn’t close his mouth for about three days,” said Flowers Caffey.
Lindsay immediately got Nannette Maciejunes of the Columbus Museum of Art involved. Within months, the collection was premiered, presenting to modern audiences vivid slices of life both rural and urban from a period of over 100 years. The works are poised and positive, speaking volumes about the lives of two African-American central Ohio artists creating for the sheer love of art.
According the Cultural Arts Center in Columbus, this exhibition is the last time that the carvings will be presented all together.
“The family has decided to honor Walter L.’s will and split the carvings,” Flowers Caffey said. She added that she and her mother intend to keep their half of Walter O.’s carvings available for display, though she does not know what will be done with the other half of the carvings. Fortunately, even if part of the collection is dispersed, it will help spread the creative joy of a fine artist throughout the world.
“It’s overwhelming. I’m just happy I was able to honor the promise I made to my dad to expose the exhibit to the community,” Flowers Caffey said.
The opening reception for the show will be held Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m. The CAC’s Conversations and Coffee lecture series will feature comments from Columbus Museum of Art Executive Director Nannette Maciejunes and folk artist collector Duff Lindsay. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with additional evening hours Monday through Thursday 7 to 9:30 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 4:30 p.m. The show will run through Feb. 17. Call the Cultural Arts Center for further information at (614) 645-7047 or visit their Web site at www.CulturalArtsCenterOnline.org.
