Elyria Arts Council
About the Board of Directors
As all Creatives know, any work of Art is a happy combination of skill, inspiration, timing, and perception. When you are open and observant, when the pieces all fall into place, then the happy work of creation begins and the results can be wonderful.
In 2015, seven local Creatives had come together around a small effort to bring some encouragement to the Arts in Elyria. When it appeared it may not succeed, these seven artists knew that some effort had to be made to try again, to continue that good work. The need was there in the community, they sensed it.
This group had a wide variety of skills among them and were willing to take a chance. They believed that a community-based Arts and Education Center would be a huge, warm campfire around which everybody who wanted could gather to tell their stories. How they told them, the mediums they used, and what they told would be encouraged by providing the opportunity and the showplace, along with encouraging exploration and offering instruction and mentoring. For those still discovering how they best could tell their tales through the Arts, this would be a safe and inclusive place, built for all, where everybody could feel respected and empowered.
The Elyria Arts Council has grown now into exactly that and we are growing by the day. The Arts are not just a engine of personal growth and power, they are a pillar of economic development. What we have witnessed recently, as each artists has experienced in their own lives, is the extraordinary healing power of the Arts.
The Board of Directors are committed to keeping the campfire burning, to expanding our mission deeper and wider into the Community. We’re always here for you. We love to interact with our community. We too are storytellers in our unique ways and love to hear yours.
Let us briefly introduce ourselves. Come and sit at the campfire, help us keep it lit. Tell your story.
Here is ours.
Jonathan Almond
My life has been a great journey, beginning with the whimsy of being born in Bourne (Wareham, MA). Early years in Pawtucket, RI, a location noted for Samuel Slater’s first textile mill in the United States which was built on the banks of the Blackstone River, gave me an appreciation for the architecture of historic buildings and a fascination with the majesty of rivers and coastlines. Railroads were an important part of childhood, too, with model trains running in every home I’ve lived in for over 70 years. I never expected that my hobby of drawing buildings on the backs of cereal boxes, meticulously inking and coloring the details of bricks and stones, would develop into an artistic style which bring to my paintings the details I observe in both manmade structures and natural forms.
I dipped my toe into the midwest back in the ’60s with college and graduate school (Ohio Wesleyan University and Methodist Theological School in Ohio) but returned to New England for a forty year career as a United Methodist minister. During those years I was fortunate to begin global travels, experiences that I recorded with water color paintings. This hobby blossomed into a retirement career as experienced artists mentored my maturing techniques. Rhode Island has a vibrant arts scene, being the home of the Rhode Island School of Design, and art galleries and juried shows abound. I took advantage of these opportunities and received numerous awards for my submissions.
Way leads on to way and I reflect in astonishment that I’ve produced over 500 paintings with subject matter that spans my observations of the natural world, urban centers, transportation, and spiritual disciplines. The wonderful journey has continued with a return in retirement to my wife’s home turf in Ohio and new adventures of friendships and collaborations with the Elyria Arts Council.
Debby Krejsa
Debby is a photographer, sculptor, raku potter, collage artist, graphic designer, and illustrator. She has recently retired from The Elyria Public library after a 25 year career as a librarian and branch manager.
Originally from Shaker Heights, Debby has lived in Elyria for over 25 years with her husband Josef Bomback. She started a business called “Pen & Inklings” creating pen & ink house portraits and had an open studio space at Artstown in Avon Lake for several years. She began focusing on handbuilt raku pottery after taking a class ant Case Western Reserve University while working on her Masters Degree in Art Education.
Photography has become her latest form of Creative Expression. She finds pleasure in focusing on architectural subjects such as walls, doors, roofs and stonework.
Debra N. Martin
Board Secretary
Debra attended Fisher Jr. College and Holyoke Community College in Massachusetts where she was born. Her career landed her in the Cleveland area when she transferred to the Veterans Medical Center in Brecksville, Ohio and eventually to the Veterans Administration in Cleveland. She moved to Elyria from Avon Lake in 1992. She became certified in Medical records coding from LCCC, where she also took classes in sterling silver soldering. She pursued her interests in metal soldering often exploring the media and teaching herself new techniques. She loves combining copper and silver in her works, and creates incredibly unique jewelry pieces.
Through the years she participated in many shows, and the “Elyria Art Crawl in the years 2003 thru 2007. She also successfully exhibited and sold her works at a gallery located in Oberlin, Ohio. She was an active pursuant in the establishment of the Elyria Arts Council. She has been an active member since 2015 and the volunteer secretary to the Board. She is currently on the committee of Artist of the Month displays.
She retired in 2019, after 32 years of service with the VA Medical Center. She currently resides in Elyria with her two feline best friends, Thomas, and Bonnie.
David J. Pavlak
Board Chair, Interim Treasurer
David has been an artist for 52 years. He has worn many hats through the years. He worked at U.S. Steel in Lorain, Ohio. He trained and raced horses. He bred racehorses on a Standardbred farm and was a Veterinary technician for 22+ years working as an embryo transfer technician. Throughout the years has sold and exhibited his Oil paintings in shows and galleries. Many of his illustrations and paintings have been featured in magazines. He has done many commission pieces for customers of animals, architecture, and human portraiture. He was the designer and project supervisor for Elyria’s Bicentennial Mural project. He is the creator of “The Quarantine Series”, 24 oil paintings visually telling stories from the Covid-19 pandemic. David resides in Elyria with his husband Clint, mother-in-law Rose Marie, and beloved cats Lolita and Cicero.
Andrea Repko
Andrea was born and raised in Lorain, Ohio and is a proud mom to a son and 4 fur babies (2 cats & 2 dogs). Andrea loves to be involved in the community. A former Elyria resident, Andrea now resides in Amherst Township and is an active realtor, substitute teacher, sports mom and soccer coach! Andrea became involved with The Elyria Arts Council in 2018 as a co-founder The Garford Arts Fest which brings vendors, artists, and the community together. She enjoys biking, and adventurous activities such as rock climbing, zip lining, and hiking. She enjoys supporting the Arts for their value of expanding the mind, increasing confidence, and decreasing stress.
Clint Rohrbacher
Clint Rohrbacher was born and raised in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. His father worked for the Boy Scouts of America and his mother owned and operated the Rose Marie Musick School of Dance. Clint’s childhood was filled with outdoor adventure in the Scouts, while his home was filled with classical music, movies, and books. Before moving to Cleveland in 1988, Clint had established himself as a freelance writer, book collector, and supporter of the Arts.
Before “retiring” in 2017, Clint worked for the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals, as well as doing freelance writing and photography work for the City of Elyria and working as a seasonal writer for the Cleveland Film Society. By helping friends through personal challenges, and undergoing some of his own, Clint became more convinced than ever of the power of Art to heal and enrich. In 2015, he had an opportunity to be one of the original founders of the Elyria Arts Council and has been active in its development ever since. In “retirement” he reads, writes, has become a muralist, restores historic homes, does public speaking, and fights with his cats for space on the library chair.