Rev. Albert Wagner

You ever have one of those moments where you realize that there are incredible things right under your nose? I had that revelation this weekend. I've lived in East Cleveland since January 2006, and I've never drawn anything here before. It's weird, because there are some things that I take everyone to see when they visit me that I think are just fabulous.

The realization came when I was at Sephora at Crocker Park. The clerk looked up my frequent buyer card, and to verify it, she asked if I lived in East Cleveland. I said, "Yes." She says, "Oh, there are some beautiful houses there." I was shocked, because that's not a normal response from someone out on the west side, but it's true! There are just some awesomely beautiful houses here; some that have just been redone since I've lived here.

So, this is the first house I drew. Everyone who visits me gets a trip to see this, and I can't tell you how many people with me have snapped a photo of this house. It's Reverend Wagner's house. He passed away, but while he lived here, he was quite an accomplished folk artist. Some of his work and more about his life can be seen/read here. You can also see the information about the documentary film made near the end of his life here.