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Lawrence Reynolds - Hays, Kansas - 1941-2013

Wood/metal sculptures

An imaginative artist with found or discarded materials, Lawrence Reynolds's work is usually an illustration of a text, either Biblical or from popular culture. Using discarded scraps of metal, he portrays a sprawling man tripped up by his own tongue with the title, "Man is judged by the transgressions of his lips." A chronic experimenter with many materials and media, Reynolds is most prolific in his production of unpainted carvings of human figures, made from recycled 2 x 4 lumber, and illustrating either common sayings or the tensions of human relationships.

Larry Richardson - Mulvane, Kansas

Golden Gate Bridge

Larry Richardson has had two great loves in his life, his wife Barbara and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, CA. In 1994, Larry was given some cable from a neighbor who had torn down a wooden bridge 1/4 mile from the Richardson's.
His wife said, "You've got your material so build your bridge."  Larry's dad said, “Well, I'll help you."  The Kansas Golden Gate Bridge is 150' long, 8' wide, and 25' high, and took 11 years to complete. It crosses a small creek separating the largest part of his farm to a small piece of land. These two men used a Golden Gate postcard — not blueprints — as a reference. Larry calls it "comparison engineering." Materials include lots of recycled items: old wooden bridge towers, cables from an oil rig, suspender cables salvaged from an old Cessna aircraft, and 9.5 tons of hand-mixed concrete.   

Anchor R

Ed Root - Lucas, Kansas - 1866-1960

Concrete Yard Environment

During his retirement years, Ed Root arrayed his farmstead south of Lucas with glass- and rock-studded concrete monuments and festoons of crepe paper flowers and shrines. In 1937, Root overturned his car, breaking his hip. After his recovery from the accident, Root spent nearly 20 years assembling his concrete sculpture garden as a pastime. Mosaic sculptures sparkled and glistened, scattered randomly unexpectedly displays around his rural mailbox and farmstead. Root's sculptures were fascinating not only for their visual appeal but also for the time period they evoke. Root took available commonplace materials and turned them into sculptures. Refuse of the mid-20th century such as doorknobs, china dishes, rocks, Model T rims, brown glass Clorox bottles, metal bunnies, marbles, mirrors, Milk of Magnesia bottles, and even plastic barrettes decorated his concrete pieces.

Anthony "Tony" Sanchez - Kansas City, Missouri

Painting

Decades of paintings by Anthony “Tony” Sanchez, 98 years old, of Kansas City, Missouri, was on display at the Grassroots Art Center in 2018. Tony’s paintings include scenes of trains, landscapes, cartoon characters, yard displays, home decor and holiday themes using acrylic and oil paints. As a young child, he was self-taught and began to sketch farm scenes with pencils, not crayons. He was recognized in school and later, his work places for his ability to draw and paint.
“During my working years, I began drawing cutaways, exploded view of parts.” Tony explained. When no catalogs were available for ordering parts, he would sketch what was needed. He was asked to sketch the design of a box for bus fares. “I could see it in my mind and went home, drew sketches and helped to design the boxes for buses.”   
The colors in his paintings come through true because he paints in the daytime when it’s best to work with natural daylight.
Tony is a World War II veteran and retired after thirty-three years as a supervisor at TJ Fleming Co., Westinghouse Air Brake, K.C. Mo. He has dedicated his retirement to doing what he loves, painting.