Artist Carves Out Inspiration at Wyandotte Gallery

John Benson walked into a Hudson’s store 40 years ago to buy Christmas cards for friends. Once he saw the prices, he realized he couldn’t afford to buy any cards.

While at the store, he noticed a card-making kit. He bought the kit, which contained a linoleum block to carve a design in and make prints with. Benson made the cards for his friends and said he ended up spending more than had he bought the original cards, but he didn’t care. He was hooked.

Since then, Benson has been making linoleum block creations–prints, greeting cards and specialties.

His newest show, "People & Other Beasts," opens Saturday at . The show includes the first public showing of his anniversary portraits.

The series celebrates significant anniversaries of various people, including Charles Darwin, Mark Twain and Anton Chekhov. The collection also includes prints of animals, with a strong presence of zebras. Other animal prints include armadillos, penguins, lion fish, owls and buzzards.

Benson said he finds inspiration simply by looking around. He cites books and trips to the zoo as inspiration.

Benson said he picked the animals in his collection because they are interesting to him designwise.

“They are visually striking designwise,” he said. “They have a lot of visual interest and patterns going on.”

He said the birds are the most challenging because of the detail in their feathers.

Karen Thomas, owner of Biddle Gallery, said the show turned out great, noting especially how reasonably priced the prints are.

“Unframed prints start at $10,” she said. “No one can say they can’t afford to buy artwork.”

Benson said he tries to keep his art affordable so that people can buy real artist-produced art.

“Anyone can put it in their house,” he said. “I think it’s important, especially with the current economic situation.”

Besides his exhibit, Benson has more than 500 card designs for sale at Biddle Gallery. He has been selling them at the gallery since it opened.

During the day, Benson works as a microbiologist for the Detroit Water and Sewage Department. While he sometimes dreams of being an artist full time, he appreciates his medical benefits and steady income.

Benson, who works on his art out of his basement or dining room, said those hours spent are more than a hobby. They're a creative outlet.

“I like the feel of the paper, the touch,” he said. “I like doing the work.”

While many businesses involving printing slowly have gone out of business, Benson thinks there will always be consumers for his prints.

“There will always be people who want something more than what they can pull from clip art,” he said.

Benson said Biddle Gallery is a great gallery with good people.

“The artists really support each other,” he said.

The opening reception for "People & Other Beasts" is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The display runs through May 31.

Benson will return to Biddle Gallery from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 7 to demonstrate his art of linoleum block carving and printing.