ONE ON ONE | Fritz Schneider Former boat captain finds calling in African art

What do you like about African art?
African art is so interesting, and there is so much to learn. Every piece has a story. Each mask goes to a special ceremony; every ceremonial piece has a special use.
A lot of it also has to do with liking the place and the people. I enjoy going to Africa and acquiring the art and meeting the artists and that whole exchange.
I certainly never would have imagined that I would be in the African art business.
I was in the charter boat business in Jamaica for 18 years, and I came to Warren because my father was ill, but there is not much work for boat captains in Warren.
A friend who imports art was on his way to Africa at the time, and he invited me to go along and see what it is that he had been doing. I went, and I enjoyed myself and thought that I would give it a try.
What was that first trip like?
Oh gosh, it was really nice. It is always exciting to go to a new place, and I had always wanted to go to Africa. It is a very beautiful place. Lots of wonderful sites to see.
How often do you go?
Twice a year. The trips are very business-oriented. It is a daylight to dark working kind of thing, traveling out to the places in the bush where the artists are and collecting all of the stuff and seeing that it is properly wrapped and packed and ready to ship.
When you are only there for a month, there isn't any sightseeing. Sightseeing is seeing whatever you see while you are going where you are going. There isn't really time to visit famous places.
Do you take your family?
Not just yet, although we plan to at some point. I go when the kids are in school.
Do you still have your boat in Jamaica?
I sold it in April. I had a 52-foot catamaran, but it was hard running an absentee business.
Any other hobbies?
I read a lot. I like novels. I like factual books. I like history books. I like to read just about anything.
I'm always reading about African art. I like Tom Clancy. I like John Grisham, almost any best seller. I'm not really fussy.
I'd much rather read than watch TV. I watch CNN and the Weather Channel and History Channel and things like that, but I'm not a big TV buff otherwise.
You've had a varied career, from running a nightclub in Columbus to charter boat captain to this. Which did you like best?
They have all been exciting. The nightclub business and the concert business was exciting, and we did national acts three nights a week, and I did that for six years.
In the summertime, the bar would close because Ohio State was out, and I would go on the road and do production work for outdoor concerts. That is what actually led me to going to Jamaica. I loved Jamaica. I loved the water. The sand, sea and the sun is great.
I've also had fun with the art gallery. If I could do this and be in Jamaica, that would probably be ideal.
What is the most challenging thing about running the gallery?
It is to educate and inform, as well as supply. There is a lot of misinformation about African art and the purpose of many of the ceremonial figures and masks and all the different things.
The challenge is to let people know that the traditional pieces are not bad magic or evil things, but are relevant to everyday life. They have to do with birth and death and marriage and rites of passage.
What kind of food do you eat at home. Do you cook Jamaican food?
I'm very fond of West Indian food. My wife is West Indian, and we eat a lot of West Indian food, what we can get. There is not local access to a lot of things, as far as spices and things like that.
My kids are like kids everywhere. They like McDonald's and Burger King and all that kind of stuff.
What is the last movie you saw?
"Spiderman." I enjoyed it. My kids were really enthralled. For many year's back, I'm a Disney movie fan, and I always enjoy one of those.
You have had a lot of career changes. Do you think this is it, or do you have another dramatic change coming?
I eventually intend to return to Jamaica. We are going to stay here until our kids finish school. They have been in school here for four years now, and they are pretty well settled.