Art is the latest fixture at historic Hammond hardware store

I've recently started displaying my art in Paul Henry's Art Gallery in Hammond, Indiana. What follows is a piece that was written in The Times by Rob Earnshaw, Times Correspondent. Be sure to check out the photos of a unique icon of Northwest Indiana



P.H. Mueller Sons hardware store has been a fixture in downtown Hammond for more than 120 years and has held steady at it current location since 1902, its owner said.

The business's adjoining store, added early in the 20th century, has been through several incarnations -- saloon, sheet metal shop and, until a few years ago, automotive paint business.

Today it's an art gallery, one its owners hope will help bring people back to downtown Hammond.

MORE: See photos of, and hear the story behind Paul Henry's Art Gallery

"Art has a wide reaching attraction," said David Mueller, co-owner of Paul Henry's Art Gallery. "We were here when downtown Hammond had its heyday, when downtown Hammond attracted business from all over Lake and Porter counties and from Illinois and Chicago too.

"The business is named after his great-grandfather and founder of P.H. Mueller Sons, Paul Henry Mueller.

I wanted to link it to the past, to the hardware store and its founder," Mueller said.

David and his wife, Rita, also a co-owner, chose art to accompany their historic hardware business because they wanted something with a distinctive nature within the historic walls -- something as original and unique as the structure itself.

It's a lestigial leftover from decades ago," Mueller said. "People enjoy seeing art in this space.

"More than 70 artists are displaying art at Paul Henry's Art Gallery. The initial presentation to artists from the Muellers included a history of the business and the P.H. Mueller building.

"We gave them an idea of who we really were -- our past and plans for the future," Rita said.

Paintings, sculptures, clay and ceramic pieces, wood and glass fill the artistic space in the 106-year-old building. Colorful paint splatters dot the floor in the back room -- now an art studio -- remnants from the automotive paint shop.

"The artists said not to clean that up, to leave it there," Mueller said.


Paul Henry's Art Gallery Location: 416 Sibley St., Hammond
Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday; closed Monday.

Forged Candle Holder with Copper Rose

This candle holder was a project when I belonged to the Indiana Blacksmithing Association.  My group would meet at the Round Barn Museum in Rochester, Indiana where they had a functioning Blacksmith shop.  Once a month we would gather, get the forge a cookin and create different projects.

This candle holder has a steel base that was cut and hand forged into the legs.  The rose candle holder has three individual pieces of copper that was formed over a mandrel and then heated to get a nice patina.  

Size:  5" wide x 4" tall

Steel Magnolias

I worked in a machine shop several years ago where I would use milling cutters such as the one forming this flower head to cut grooves in metal.

At that time, I was not creating works of art out of discarded tools and junk metal but I wish now that I had been as I would have had a good supply of "raw materials".

It is interesting to note how past experiences come back to mold you into the person you are today.  It was at this job that I had my first experience with a weld shop.   




Size:  12" wide x 24" tall

Artful Tread 2008

I participated in "The Artful Tread" competition in Indianapolis this year. For those unfamiliar with it, it is held in conjuction with the Indianapolis 500 festivities during the month of May.

Artists are asked to create pieces of art in which at least part of the art is a tire.

It is held on Mass Ave in Indianapolis a trendy street with lots of unique art galleries, dining, and shopping opportunities. Visitors to the street are asked to vote for their favorites along with a panel of judges.

I faired well in the judging and was thrilled when my entry became a permanent piece of art on Mass Ave. You can find it in the 800 Block of Mass Ave at the corner of Mass Ave and College Street right by The Art Bank.

http://www.discovermassave.com/

And So It Begins

I haven't done any writing or journaling in quite a while. In fact I think that years, or even decades, would be a more appropriate word.

It is late on a Sunday with the wind chill near -30 degrees F. Hardly a perfect time to embark on a blog but one must start somewhere. I think someone said that "The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step" or something close to that, and that is where I begin. A first step.

Much like a baby's first steps, I'm a little shaky. Heck, I'm not even sure I've been crawling to this point. I am an artist in junk metal, not a writer of profound thoughts.

The year 2008 is drawing to a close and what a year it has been. Among all of the gloom and doom that has been touted by the media, I have a lot to be thankful for and I will share some of that as it relates to the "Madness" in future posts.

I don't know where this journey will take me, much like I did not know where my art form would lead me or the opportunities that would present itself. I try to keep my eyes and ears open and look at things in different perspectives. That is how I am able to turn "trash into treasure".

Join me on the journey as I turn "One Man's Trash......Into Another Man's Treasure".