MEDINA, Ohio -- Ever since the Medina County Historical Society began work on the McDowell-Phillips House at 205 S. Prospect St. in early 2020, the goal has been to restore the home to its original splendor.
To that end, contractors and artists have contributed their expertise to paint, wallpaper, plaster, refinish woodwork, replace exterior shingles -- the list goes on.
One of the final goals was to restore the beauty of the foyer -- the large room that visitors enter from the front porch.
Under the foyer’s crumbling plaster and multiple coats of paint were the ghosts of red stenciled patterns featuring a seashell and ribbons, copying the pattern of the stained glass window at the front of the house.
The pattern of the newly created frescoes in the foyer of the McDowell Phillips House in Medina echoes the artwork in the home's front stained glass window. (Mary Jane Brewer, special to cleveland.com)
The painted patterns appeared all around the room on the walls just below the ceiling, as well as in a larger version on both sides of the fireplace.
Because the McDowell and Phillips families saved records documenting more than 100 years of work done to the house, the society learned who painted the stencils shortly after the house was built.
On March 28, 1892, Mr. O.M. Bietz wrote a letter to R.M. McDowell, the original owner of the McDowell-Phillips House, offering his name as an “Artist in Fresco Painting.” McDowell obviously hired him, as the frescos remained.
Recently, Janet Baran, a local artist and historical society member, volunteered to reproduce the frescos in the foyer.
An up-close look at one of Janet Baran's stenciled frescoes in the foyer of the McDowell Phillips House in Medina. (Mary Jane Brewer, special to cleveland.com)
She first met with Matt Weiderhold of Main Street Medina and Historical Society President Brian Feron on Jan. 7. In February, she showed them sample boards with the pigment she recommended.
In late March, she underwent a knee replacement. During her convalescence, she experimented with spackling compound, joint compound and various oil, ink and acrylic pigments to recreate the original color and texture.
“I wanted it to look like plaster work,” she said.
She then traced the original designs and cut stencils with an Exacto knife.
On Aug. 29, she began to work on the walls. Feron had painted the repaired walls with cream-colored paint, to which Baran applied a glaze “to add depth.”
She taped the stencil to the walls on the exact measurements of the originals. She then began painting on the compound she had created with a large, stiff brush.
Each clamshell design necessitated her climbing on a scaffolding -- three times, all with a new knee. She cheerfully commented, “It was really good therapy.”
She worked for six hours a day “or whatever my leg would tolerate,” and finished on Sept. 13. She estimates that she spent 70 hours on the project.
“I’m glad I got to do what I did,” she said.
The final result is amazing. Guests who visit the house during the holiday season and beyond will have the opportunity to see and appreciate her painstaking labor.
For information about the Medina County Historical Society and the McDowell-Phillips House, log on to www.medinacountyhistoricalsociety.com or email MCHS@zoominternet.net.
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Artist Janet Baran creates frescos for Medina’s McDowell-Phillips House - cleveland.com
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