82-Uncaster Farming, Saturday, January 26,1985
Abner Zook carves out a tree on one of his three-dimensional paintings in his
Womelsdorf studio.
Abner Zook shares Amish heritage
BY SUZANNE KEENE
WOMELSDORF - As a child
growing up on a Lancaster County
Amish farm, Abner Zook found
many uses for the artistic talent he
believes God gave him at birth.
During the Depression years
when money was scarce, Zook and
his twin brother, Aaron, learned to
use their artistic skills to make
their own toys. Using bits and
pieces of wood and nails they found
around the farm, the Zook twins
created miniature replicas of the
farm equipment that was such an
integral part of their lives.
And, while at first they envied
their neighbors’ store-bought toys,
they soon found that the neighbors
spent more time at the Zook’s
playing with the homemade toys
than they did at home playing with
their own.
'Today at age 64, Abner Zook is a
successful artist, making his living
creating unique three-dimensional
paintings that depict rural and
farm scenes. From his art studio in
Womelsdorf, Zook explains that
although he never received any
formal art education, he has
developed his natural ability and
has found a medium in which he
can express himself.
When creating his realistic
pictures, Zook draws from his
This huge carving has a special place in Zook's studio. It is half of a two-part display
which shows two different angles of the same scene. The display comes apart so Zook
can move it to display elsewhere.
handcrafted pictures
in
life’s experiences, first as an
Amish farmer tilling the soil with
horse and plow, and later from a
number of other occupations in
cluding carpenter, electrician, and
orchardist.
“I have grey hpir and the
greater part of my life’s vocation is
spent,” Zook says without
remorse. But, he continues, “I
have benefited from all these
experiences.”
For example, when he was a boy,
the barn burned down and he
remembers the Amish community
joining forces to build a new one.
Today, he depicts the barn-raising
scene using wood, wire, auto body
filler and paint.
Just as writers use pen and
paper to express themselves, Zook
uses his tools to share with others
his knowledge of the rural people.
” The medium in my hand,” Zook
explains, “is chisel and brush.”
Having been raised in a com
munity where higher education
anything beyond the eighth or
ninth grade was frowned upon,
Zook was left to his own devices to
develop the talent he discovered
early in life. “They usually say
artists are bom,” Zook says. And
while he believes that people are
bom with God-given talents, he
also realizes that talent must be
nurtured and developed.
Zook credits his parents for
encouraging him to develop his
talent, even though they
discouraged him from pursuing his
desire for more education. When
Zook created a house from some
old wood and a bag of nails, his
father encouraged him. “Son, that
house you built was quite unique,"
his father told him.
His father was also supportive
when Zook and Aaron decided to
convert an old swing hanging from
the apple tree in the backyard into
an airplane. Zook said he and
Aaron took two boards set
crosswise to create their plane and
hung it with a rope. When their
father saw that the rope could be a
little dangerous, he went to the
barn and found a heavy cable for
their plane.
Arouhd the tune the twins were
busy using their artistic talent to
entertain themselves, tourism was
making its way into the county and
into the Zook home. When the
tourists saw the little Zook boys out
in the yard playing with their
homemade toys, they wanted
models to take home. “So we
started making models of little
horses and wagons," Zook
remembers.
Now Zook says, “The toys are
(otnesifiad
tMoifS
Amish lifestyle is the theme for many of Zook's pictures.
Here he has depicted an Amish carriage shop.
Covered bridge scenes are especially popular with Zook's
many customers. This particular picture can be transformed
into a night scene when placed under a black light.
gone and the parents are gone, but
the memory still lingers.”
* And though the setting and
lifestyle of his childhood has
changed, it was his school and
provides the subject of his work.
Zook has no regrets that his
schooling was different from that
of most artists and believes his
informal education, which he
gained from reading and ex
perimenting on his own, has given
him greater freedom to express
himself.
Other artists also offered Zook
encouragement and advice. One
time when Zook was having a
problem with a piece of his work he
packed it up and took it to Andrew
Wyeth. In working through the
colors in one of his pictures Zook
had been following “the rules” he
had learned from an art book. But
Wyeth advised him that there are
times when an artist must abandon
the rules and go with his gut in
stinct.
Zook recalls the meeting with
pleasure and just a hint of pride at
conversing with such a famous
artist. Wyeth’s wife was standing
alongside her husband when Zook
made his call, and she asked Zook,
"Do you know who you’re talking
to’” reminding him of Wyeths'
social importance.
But mainly, Zook simply steered
his own course, and although he
describes himself as “a bit of a
misfit” in the artistic community,
he has attained a certain amount of
fame himself.
Today Zook’s three-dimensional
artwork done in bas-relief brings a
fair price in the marketplace.
Prices vary according to the size of
the artwork, which can be as small
as 12 inches square or as large as
12 feet wide by eight feet high.
"I get thousands now for what 1
did for hundreds,” Zook says,
explaining that when he first
started making these paintings 25
to 30 years ago, many of them sold
for $2OO and $3OO. His work is so
popular that he has a backlog of
orders that will keep him busy for
eight or nine years.
Tourists bought many of his first
pieces and now the second
generation of his first customers
are coming back and buying his
work to hand down as collector’s
items.
He takes a picture of every piece
he makes and keeps a log of his
buyers. "I have a pretty good
record of most of them,” he says.
Paging through Zook’s log book,
the visitor learns that each
painting is unique. While many
feature similar scenes, there is
always something different about
each one. Whether the bridge is
turned at a different angle or the
faces painted with different ex
pressions, each painting has a
unique scene to portray.
An especially observant visitor
will also notice a set of identical
twins in many of the pictures.
These twins are, of course, Abner
and Aaron Zook, two little Amish
boys growing up in Lancaster
County.
Most of Zook’s paintings are
imaginary, V come from his mind
rather than from actual places.
However, he does do some field
work, reproducing real scenes in 3-
D.
Zook’s studio is attached to his
home along Route 422 m
Womelsdorf and draws many
tourists and senior citizens each
year. There, they are treated to
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