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Incredible 'homeless' art pieces find haven in Libertyville

Works of art that some regard as well beyond a feat of remarkable craftsmanship line the walls of a windowless old warehouse on a side street in Libertyville.

But the story of how the 30 large panels that comprise "My Father's Love" were created and brought out of storage in Michigan to this temporary gallery may be as striking as the intricate mosaic images made with hundreds of thousands of tiny diamond-shaped pieces of wood.

It is fair to say the elaborate work by a disheveled and frequently homeless artist prompts a reaction, providing soothing comfort to some viewers while bringing others to tears.

"You're in the presence of something unearthly - there's just no other explanation," said Sue Smits, who first saw the panels last year in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She recently visited Libertyville to guide visitors through the first local showing, a stop on a fundraising walk for members of St. Joseph Catholic Church.

"I've seen these hundreds of times and I always see something new," Smits said.

The art of parquetry

"My Father's Love" was created by the late Ed Lantzer, a native of Kalkaska, Michigan. Born in 1932, he suffered brain damage from scarlet fever as a child. As an adult he led a hard and meandering life.

In his 50s, the skilled carpenter was said to have been directed in a dream to create the wooden panels depicting Biblical scenes. He walked away from everyday life, a good job and material possessions.

According to Lantzer's story, he was guided by God to use his gifts as a way to reach the unloved. Because he could neither write nor draw, Lantzer had to visualize the scenes. Besides saws, the only tool he used to create the scenes on 4-by-8-foot panels was a ruler to find the centers. He worked outward, affixing tiny pieces of wood with glue to create intricate patterns and designs - a form of mosaic art called parquetry.

The images are Lantzer's artistic interpretation of scenes such as "The Passion" and the "Last Supper," comprised of three and seven panels respectively. Although done independently, the panels in each scene align precisely when placed together.

Lantzer created the "Last Supper" in 1986 in a garage in Orlando, Florida, as the first installment of what became a more than 20-year mission.

"It was all in his head. He knew exactly what it was going to look like," said LaShelle VanHouten, an art teacher who worked with Lantzer and later would write a book about his life, which played a key role in the pieces being brought to Libertyville.

Lantzer cut half-inch, diamond-shaped pieces from more than 150 varieties of trees in different colors and grains. By cutting the wood in different ways, he was able to create colors and three-dimensional effects.

Words and symbols abound in the panels. What a visitor sees depends on distance and lighting, meaning a viewer can see something different every time.

"There's no explanation for how he was able to do that. Was he a savant? Was God working through him?" VanHouten asked.

"I don't know, but it's unexplainable. Everything has deep meaning. It's going to take scholars to figure it out."

Path to Libertyville

Libertyville resident Allyson Cayce does a lot of volunteer work, but after becoming aware of Lantzer's creations, she was compelled to pursue a project of a magnitude she had never attempted nor envisioned.

Be it coincidence or providence, Cayce has led the effort to transform a dank space filled with pallets of years-old pasta into an art gallery. She said the journey has changed her life.

Ed Lantzer, a Michigan native, insisted his work not be shown for anyone's profit, including his own.

"Why all this happened I'll never know, but I felt I couldn't turn my back on them," she said of the panels weighing 400 pounds each.

Her involvement began in March with the chance meeting on an airplane with the normally private VanHouten. That was followed by a road trip to northern Michigan, hundreds of hours of work, the efforts and donations of scores of volunteers, a nervous appearance before the village board and finally the opening Dec. 2 of the temporary gallery in the former Foulds pasta plant warehouse at Second and Church streets. All this for something Cayce had seen only in photos. Call it a leap of faith.

"This is way, way over my head," she said.

"What compelled me about it, I'll never really know," she added. "It was like something else inside of me."

That spark was kindled in March on a spring break trip to Florida, with her two daughters. Normally, Cayce would have been sitting with them on the plane, but circumstances put her in the same row with VanHouten, who had written "The Mural Writer: The unlikely story of an outcast who fulfilled an extraordinary purpose."

VanHouten's husband was reading it when a conversation ensued. VanHouten gave Cayce two pieces of wood Lantzer used.

After reading the book, Cayce sent VanHouten an email about the panels, which at that point were in storage and without a home.

"Where are they? What can I do?" the email read.

"God literally sent people throughout his life while he was working on the mural to help him in some way. I called it the relay team. I was one of them," VanHouten said. "Meeting Allyson on that plane is part of the relay team."

A temporary home

  Deb Larson, left, of Libertyville, looks over one of the "My Father's Love" pieces with Allyson Cayce inside the temporary Foulds Gallery in a former Libertyville warehouse. Paul Valade/pvalade@dailyherald.com

Lantzer worked on the panels in makeshift workshops for 24 years, first in Florida and in his hometown in Michigan. He died in 2009, but his work has had a continuing impact on many.

The panels have been on public display only five times, said VanHouten, vice president of My Father's Love Foundation. Lantzer turned down all offers to purchase his art. And because he made the foundation members promise no one should ever pay to see or profit from them, it has been difficult to find a location to have them exhibited.

After months of work, Cayce learned she needed to meet various village regulations to secure a temporary occupancy permit for the gallery to continue. Arrangements with the village were made to allow two initial public viewings, but Casey had to make a case to the village board Dec. 8, where a solution to allow the display to continue was worked out. The panels will be on display through June.

"This is truly a gift to the community and we should look at it as such," Libertyville Trustee Rich Moras said at that meeting.

"I think the village is very fortunate to have the opportunity to see this exhibit and we commend you for your efforts," Trustee Todd Gaines added. "The wooden mosaics are amazing."

The nature of the work is such that it appeals to artists, woodworkers and mathematicians, as well as people of faith.

One of My Father's Love art pieces by the late Ed Lantzer. Courtesy of MY Father's Love Foundation

"That's the beautiful part about it. You can keep looking at it over and over again and always see something different," Cayce said. "I'm absolutely fascinated by it. You come for the story and stay for the art."

Volunteer Cynthia Dane, who is helping at the gallery, said its astonishing how moved some people are when they see the display.

"In this time of all the trials and tribulations in the world right now, it kind of puts the reason for the season in front of us and it's refreshing," she said.

If you go

What: “My Father’s Love” exhibit of intricate mosaic designs

Where: The Foulds Gallery, 520 E. Church St., Libertyville

When: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays and Sundays, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursdays and by appointment by calling Allyson Cayce, (847) 224-0039.

Admission: Free. Donations accepted.

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