Artist Of The Month

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Parma is home to a great many talented individuals, artists, and craftsmen, both professional and amateur, who specialize in a variety of mediums. This article is the sixteenth in a series which will showcase a Parma area artist and introduce you to many of your talented neighbors.

Joe Federico

Joe Federico graduated from Padua High School in 1999. After Padua, he attended Cleveland State University where he majored in Communication, and minored in Marketing. In 2000 he joined the Parma-based Great Lakes Wood Carvers, which meets at the Donna Smallwood Activities Center. His interest in wood carving began when he was in the Boy Scouts and he earned his merit badge carving wooden neckerchief slides at summer camp.  

Besides woodcarving, he collects sports cards, autographs, comic books, and movie memorabilia. Those passions have translated into his business American Treasures. Inspired by movie characters, he has carved Elwood Blues from the Blues Brothers, Casper the Friendly Ghost, and Stuart the Minion. Joe stated that Stan Starry Jr., President of Great Lakes Wood Carvers, has been instrumental in honing his skills as a carver. 

As a fan of amusement parks, Joe chose the Universal Studios Theme Park as his theme for a Christmas display in the window of Country Stove and Patio. Joe researched train displays and found that he would be the first to use the Universal Studios theme. He traveled to the park three years ago and took numerous photos of buildings, characters, and studied the layout of the park. Everything in the display is a current, retired, or a licensed property miniature of Universal Studios. The buildings are all custom made and each one took two to three months to create. 

The train is a Lionel Harry Potter O scale. You'll see Harry Potter, Hagrid, E.T., Bumblebee and Megatron from Transformers, the Grinch from Dr. Seuss, Beetlejuice, and Back to the Future DeLoreans. There's Optimus Prime, Gremlins, Ghostbusters, Simpsons, Krusty the Clown, the Engineers from Polar Express, Santa, and Jake and Elwood Blues, too. Plus so much more! 

The display setup begins mid-November and will be finished just prior to Thanksgiving. Bring the family to view this charming holiday display, lovingly created by Joe Federico at Country Stove and Patio, located in the front window at 6669 Royalton Rd in North Royalton. Store hours are Monday/Thursday 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Tuesday/Wednesday/Friday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., and closed on Sunday. 

If you are an amateur or professional artist, living in the Parma area, or know of someone who is, and would like to be featured as an artist of the, please contact me by email at kathrynmabin@att.net.