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Mural recognizes impact of late artist’s family
The mural took 1,000 hours to complete.
SEBRING — Before he died, renowned artist and designer Victor Schreckengost watched area artist Dirk Rozich paint him and other members of the extended Schreckengost family.
A completed mural by Rozich was dedicated Friday after 1,000 hours of preparation and painting.
In the mural, Schreckengost is holding a blue Jazz Bowl designed for Eleanor Roosevelt in 1931.
Rozich, 28, of Alliance, said Schreckengost’s only comment was to “make the bowl bigger.”
Finally, “as he was leaving, he thanked me,” Rozich said.
At the time, the younger artist wondered why. But Rozich said that Schreckengost was like that: down to earth, even though he had been called an American DaVinci.
Schreckengost died earlier this year at the age of 101. His work ranged from fine art to toys to artificial limbs.
The New York Times wrote at the time of his death that the impact of his various designs on the economy was estimated at more than $200 billion.
Rozich is following in Schreckengost’s steps and said that all he ever wanted to be was an artist.
Victor’s nephew, Paul Schreckengost, paid for the mural, gazebo, and new sidewalks at the mural site in the heart of Sebring. The amount wasn’t disclosed.
Rozich did not grab a brush and start painting. He said he spent hundreds of hours researching the extended family members shown in the mural.
The members of the Schreckengost clan are talented and smart and are involved in business, ministry and medicine, he said.
Rozich found facial photos of the family members. He took photos of himself and his fiancee, Nicole Wallin, 24, of Akron, in period garb, then added the family faces with a computer.
They are now engaged. He noted her willingness to help out, adding, “She’s definitely a keeper.”
In the mural, the Schreckengost family members are roughly the same age. He then arranged the clan members, projected their images on the wall, marked them, and painted from top to bottom.
The mural has a protective coating along with one to prevent damage from the sun.
Besides the family members, Rozich obtained photos of the now-gone potteries that once were the economic backbone of Sebring and made them part of the background of the mural.
While he was painting, “Hundreds of people stopped by,” he said. He would wind up talking for hours with people who would recall the people in the mural.
The dedication came during Sebring’s harvest festival.
Mayor John Smith said a number of businesses are fixing up their properties downtown. He said the work began under a former mayor, the late Daphne Cannell.
A large property is also being turned into an upscale bed and breakfast.
Rozich himself is in the painting, but you won’t see his face.
Paul Schreckengost said there should be a kite in the mural, so Rozich painted himself with his back to the viewer, flying a kite based on the Ohio flag.
For more information on the artist and more photos of the mural, visit www.dirkrozich.com.
wilkinson@vindy.com