Artist John Ebersole combines ancient styles with contemporary ideas

By Bethany A. Monk
Assistant Editor

As a child, John Ebersole was used to his mother’s interest in his opinion on “this color or that color” in any given painting she was working on. A well-accomplished oil and pastel portrait artist, she ensure d there would be no lack of art in the family home.

Sometimes she took her canvas and her paints to the back porch to paint. “She was more of a kitchen table kind of artist,” the Santa Barbara native said of his mother, Ruth Singer.

For Ebersole, the process of evolving into an artist has been more subtle. He showed interest in art and had always been creative from an early age, but it wasn’t until the past couple of decades, he said, that he really found his niche.

Ebersole specializes in “making something look like something it’s not.” He has a passion for ancient Greece, ancient Rome and Mayan culture; when people see his sculptures for the first time, many think they are seeing painted rocks. Then they pick them up and are surprised at how light they are.

To get the “rock look,” Ebersole uses a homemade recipe of paper pulp and white glue, a kind of high-end papier-mâché mixture.

“Nothing is ever intended to be a replica,” he said of his work, such as a sculpture of a man’s face and head he created after viewing a photo. It’s not the same man, and it’s not a copy.

One of Ebersole’s passions is Mexico, where many years ago he studied with Mexican artist Miguel Sanchez. It was Ebersole’s introduction to sculpture, which quickly became his passion.

“I think and feel in 3-D,” he said. “I need to have three ‘D’s’ to get around and express myself.”

Mexico became a part of Ebersole’s life. Earlier this decade, he spent half of every year in Ixtlán del Río, a small town in Nayarit, Mexico, renting the same house and spending all his time working on his craft.

“It wasn’t a place where many ‘gringos’ would go — when I go to Mexico, I want to go to Mexico,” he said. He had no phone and no Internet access. To communicate with friends and family back home, he would visit a local cybercafe.

Ebersole made the yearly treks to Mexico until recently, when he decided to stay local and explore other places. He has lived in Benicia since 1992, and praises the city’s appreciation for the arts.

“I’m really lucky to live in Benicia. It suits me in a lot of different ways.

“The interaction with other artists is stimulating,” he said. “I’m affected by other artists around me and the community at large is supportive. I would feel at a loss if I didn’t have that.”

See For Yourself
Some of John Ebersole’s work is on display at Jon’s Hair Loft, 517 Claverie Way, in Benicia. Some of his art will also be on display in the Arts Benicia Open Studios in May. For more information, visit www.94510.org/ebersole.html.