Homes & Gardens of South Central Pennsylvania
September 2005
By Christine Conard Shultz
Photographs by Paul Emberger
Water. It flows as inspiration for many artists. It can also be powerfully destructive, as it was a year ago this month, when Hurricane Ivan made his way up the East Coast, stripping the countryside of its beauty.
Photographs from last year’s flood depict an almost idyllic fall morning – the day the Susquehanna took over Shipoke’s streets. A ribbon of steely water runs through the landscape under a blanket of azure sky. The neighborhood was submerged, the juxtaposition of calm blueness and purling water, disarming.
“There was no control but nature’s,” says Ona Magaro, a Harrisburg native and artist whose glasswork captures the element of her surroundings. Just as she is aware of the river’s physical power, she acknowledges its ability to influence the human in psychological ways.  “Water has been a definite influence in my work,” she adds. “Its transparency and fluidity is untempered…the way colors move and separate inside the light. I find that symbolic of what I do and where I’ve been centered with my art these past years.”
When floodwaters receded from the historic community, few of its residents considered moving, regardless of the inevitable return of chaos, of the uncontainable nature and threat of the river. Just as it has for Magaro, the river acts as muse for many Shipoke residents, nurturing a vision of what they can coax from life here along the banks of the Susquehanna.
“I think like the artist who is resolute in choosing her medium, those of us who stay here do so by unwavering decision,” says Rod Kautz, a Shipoke resident who collects Magaro’s glasswork. After Ivan, Kautz gutted his entire first floor and needed some inspiration himself. He chose to bring new life to his 150-year-old home by decorating it with Magaro’s creations. Kautz chose a deep tangerine shade for his walls and accented his living and dining rooms with objects that reflect his eclectic taste: He likes a combination of antiques and contemporary art.
“What’s surprising to me,” says Kautz, “is the dramatic form of each piece and how unusually well they display together. Each time I select a piece of [Magaro’s] artwork and bring it home, I appreciate more not only her eye for creating, but also how each finished piece reflects individuality and yet enhances characteristics in others.”
Kautz’s comments extend beyond the realm of artwork. It’s as though the neighborhood itself, rejuvenated since last September, might be speaking through him. Turning down Showers Street, or walking along the shaded sidewalks of Conoy or Race Streets, you see elegant brick town homes acquiescing to the new and brighter colors worn by their more modest Victorian sisters – the bones of this early Harrisburg community. With architectural ornamentation ranging from subtle scrollwork to intricately carved gingerbread and gabled dormers, there’s much here to serve as inspiration.
Having recently secured her MFA from Bowling Green State University with a concentration in glass sculpture, Magaro has begun to collaborate with her husband, Ira Cuelho, who does ironwork. This departure has her creating larger pieces; the couple recently completed a 14-foot-high outdoor sculpture; Magaro’s largest piece to date. With its twisting armature and delicate balance of bulbous blue and amber-tinted glass, the piece is somewhat ethereal in appearance. Magaro says the sculpture showcases new possibilities for her artwork. “It’s a cool piece – the ironwork gives it structure, while the glass gives it lightness and dimension,” she says.
Another mixed media outdoor piece of Magaro’s hangs in the patio of Bill and Lynn Renz’s Shipoke home. Their home, which is perched along the riverbank, is the ideal place for the 2x3-foot wall sculpture that sprang from Magaro’s musing on fish. Whether bass, trout or other, one can’t be sure – but you can see the idea of scaled creatures on hooks or swimming up to bobbers skimming along the water’s surface. And if not intentional, this piece also seems to reflect a water theme.
“I’m drawn to the challenge of capturing water’s elusive essence,” she says, as if she enjoys casting her imagination in a wide net to discover how she’ll finalize a concept. “That’s been a constant [feeling] with my work. I leave a physical mark on the material, trying to capture a glimpse of the material’s movement.”
Regardless of her foray into mixed media, Magaro’s foremost passion is still glass. “I loved the process of making that one-of-a-kind piece, the liquid movement that I see in the glass as I work it – the coloration that changes as the piece takes shape and after it’s finished…the subtle shift of light within.”
The Renzes find Magaro’s glass collectible for the same reasons, and have acquired an assortment of the artist’s pieces. Ironically, when Ivan reared his head last fall, many of those pieces came within proximity of the very thing that inspired their creation. Water poured into the couple’s basement and lurked just inches from their first floor.
The Renzes, like Kautz, believe in drawing attention to Magaro’s art. Bill built a wall unit specifically to showcase the collection. The couple’s multi-hued vases, bowls and sculptures nest within the shelves as if they’re a family rather than stand-alone accents.
One of these pieces, says Magaro, is an absolute one-of-a-kind. Despite its beauty, she will never again attempt to  create something like it. “I had this idea that I thought was really cool for lining up the colors like squares on a checkerboard,” she explains. But she admits that the technique was a challenge, taking far longer to finish than most of her pieces require. Though the end result is a stunning conversation piece, Magaro surmises its fruition may be described as a lesson more in determination than in creativity.
On a day when the river looks as smooth as lass, Magaro’s thoughts pay homage to the resolute nature of Shipoke residents. The river routinely leaves an unpleasant physical mark on their lives, but is also the ultimate reason they live there.
Kautz concurs that determination is a hallmark of the Shipoke community. “Despite the reality of Ivan, this community has pulled together to rebuild and regroup,” he says. “Resolve is as much a part of this neighborhood as is the river.”
Indeed, it is the very ebb and flow of the river at their doorsteps that attracts residents to Shipoke.
“I think, too, that what Ona says about finding inspiration for her artwork suggests what I’m trying to convey,” adds Kautz. “Living here, I’d better appreciate the palette upon which this community finds its color. After sharing in something so nearly devastating to many, we can [still] coax artistry back into out lives.” |
