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06.27.04
Secrets of Sycamore Street Studio
The Sculpture and Design Studio of Ted Gantz and Bob Dyehouse
By Ruth K. Meyer, Artwhirled@iRhine.com
 If you stand at the corner of Sycamore and Liberty where OTR ends and Prospect Hill begins you might never know that a little corner of Italy has fallen to the ground nearby. Sycamore Street Studio is workshop, residence and secret garden for Ted Gantz and his associate Bob Dyehouse who lives with his wife and child nearby. This romantic Italianate setting is the sculpture and design studio of Gantz and Dyehouse who work as both sculptors and decorative artists to create original sculpture, furniture, lighting, plaster ornamentation, fountains and wrought iron railings and gates.
Under the protection of the goddess Juno, Gantz stands at the door to the studio. Gantz's property once included three separate residences. One is now the Studio workshop that lies opposite the courtyard entrance to Gantz's 1880s residence.
A third building on the property that was built in the 1890s was a rooming house. After some experience as a landlord, Gantz decided to gut that building and create a sunken garden area for entertaining and to display the Studio's creative works and inspirations.
 The foundations of the demolished building give the effect of an Italian grotto garden, which can be explored at ground level or viewed from a second story terrace room, linked to the main residence by a bridge.
Ted Gantz is a Cincinnati native and graduate of the Art Academy of Cincinnati. A travel scholarship awarded after graduation took him to Florence and the beginning of a lifelong relationship with Tuscany and its capital. Gantz later earned an MA in Art History from the University Of Cincinnati with a thesis on an 18th century Italian decorative artist. Many of his architectural sculpture projects have a Baroque flair, but his principal collecting activities are now focused on 19th century Cincinnati sculptors.
Bob Dyehouse joined Gantz as an apprentice designer and craftsman and is now a partner in the Studio. Dyehouse graduated from the University of Cincinnati where his interests in abstract art were developed. The two artists balance one another stylistically since Gantz concentrates more on figurative sculptures.
The bronze group elevated on a pier in the sunken garden is Gantz's titled Apotheosis to Florence is a personal statement of Gantz's hoped for destiny. The busts of Floretine heroes of the arts and letters were made from molds taken from a series of busts Gantz purchased for an early commission at an Indian Hill estate.
From the second floor terrace room guests look over the garden below to the Cincinnati skyline. They can view many of the sites in Cincinnati that Gantz and Dyehouse have helped to beautify. They have designed and built original works for homes, gardens, businesses and places of worship. Creating in many materials such as stone, metal, glass, and plaster they work with individuals, interior designers, landscapers and architects. The Studio garden has won many awards and is frequently opened to tour groups by appointment.
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Ruth K. Meyer, Editor of iRhine is also the Senior Curator at Carl Solway Gallery.
Photography by Fabienne Christenson
Fabienne Christenson is a painter who has a studio on the 8th floor of the Pendleton Art Center and is open for Final Fridays. Her website is:
www.fabiart.com
About iRhine
iRhine is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that develops the focus of communication for the many diversified offerings in the historic Cincinnati neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine (OTR). Through the Web site, e-mails, educational meetings, events, and volunteering, iRhine has supported and encouraged socio-economic development for OTR and the Greater Cincinnati Region since 2000.
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Jul 31, 2010
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