The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Local talent on display at FireFish Festival
Artists explain motivations
Three artists with local connections will be among those bringing the arts to Broadway for the third annual FireFish Arts Festival.
Area residents will get a chance to see the work of Magdalena Cruz and Kevin Jackson and to hear Ms.Mission in this year’s festival, which has expanded to two days Oct. 6 and 7.
The three have different styles in different media, but prove Lorain’s creative undercurrent is simmering in area residents who also work as school professionals, service members and computer help technicians.
“All of us want to see downtown Lorain, the city of Lorain, revitalized through an arts movement,” said Roberta Rosa, FireFish board secretary who will perform as DJ RoRo to kick off the Oct. 6 event. “When you have a blighted area, it’s the most affordable way, it’s the most inexpensive way, to revitalize a community and also instill pride.”
‘See Lorain come to life’
Magdalena Cruz, 48, is a paraprofessional at Lorain High School.
As an artist, Cruz guides parishioners of Sacred Heart Chapel, 4301 Pearl Ave. in Lorain, making “carpets” of sand and sawdust on the floor.
The materials become pictures that people walk over processing in for Good Friday services before Easter.
“The main idea is to honor the body of Christ,” Cruz said. “We destroy it, but that’s our sacrifice to honor Jesus Christ.
“He gave his life to save us. We’re so grateful for what he did for us.”
The Latin American tradition was part of life in El Salvador, where Cruz grew up.
The illustrations can show nature scenes with birds and flowers, or the favorite sayings of deceased loved ones.
The artists spend up to three days preparing the carpets, which are colored with sand, glitter and tempura paint.
When they get up, they are sore, but nobody cares, Cruz said.
To create the art, Cruz enlists the help of her husband, Carlos Guillermo Cruz, and son, Carlos Roberto Cruz, a student at John Carroll University.
Her daughter, Alicia Cruz, a student at Lorain County Community College, has learned the techniques of her mother.
Cruz helped parishioners create 50 carpets in the gym of Sacred Heart Chapel. Her work for FireFish will be on display in the Lorain Arts Council, 737 Broadway.
“I feel like FireFish brings the community together,” she said. “That’s my inspiration really, because I want to see Lorain come to life. If I can do something for my community, I’m so happy.”
‘Talent in the city’
By day, Lorain native Holly Earl serves as a staff sergeant for the U.S. Air Force.
Earl is a flight medic stationed at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton.
On stage and in studio, Earl is Ms. Mission, a hiphop artist with much of her fan base in Lorain.
“I’m really just trying to follow my dreams,” she said.
Ms. Mission will perform at 8 p.m., Oct. 7.
A Clearview High School alumna, Earl, 31, was the 2004 Lorain County Miss Basketball.
Before enlisting, she took a turn coaching the former Southview High School basketball team.
Her sisters, Jennifer Lynn and Abbey Earl, live in Lorain, while her brother, Eric Earl, lives in Norwalk.
She said Eric Earl was the one who first introduced her to the 1995 album “Me Against the World” by Tupac Shakur, which became a major influence on her own music.
Since returning from her last deployment, Earl has spent the last year writing and recording her extended play album “Rhyme or Reason.”
She also is developing a studio in Lorain as a way to offer opportunities to other young performers who may not have a chance to travel and record their music at other locations.
Paraphrasing a quotation from Shakur, Earl said she wants to spark the flame that will change the world.
“Lorain, I feel like, is one of the most talented cities that I’ve ever been to, but it’s down on itself,” Earl said. “There’s too much talent in the city to be negative. One of these days it’s going to turn around.
“I’m not saying it’s not a good city already,” she said. “But it’s rougher than most.”
‘Augmented reality’
A native of Buffalo, N.Y., Kevin Jackson moved to Cleveland in 2002.
Now he produces video for Pickwick & Frolic Restaurant & Club, which has become an anchor of East 4th Street in Cleveland.
Jackson, 37, also works part-time in technical support for Lorain County Community College’s distance learning department.
He taught himself projection mapping, the art form he will use to light up the Ohio Gold and Diamond Exchange, which is in the old Lorain post office, 863 Broadway, on Oct. 6 and 7.
“Basically, it’s like augmented reality,” Jackson said. “It just makes the building look like it’s animated.”
In 2016, Jackson used projection mapping at the Lorain Historical Society for FireFish’s ArtSong event, featuring classical pianist Angelin Chang.
His work has been projected inside the Stocker Arts Center at LCCC, and numerous other shows and events.
The post office will be one of the largest projections to date. The theme will be “Anachrotech” in keeping with the Steam Punk theme of this year’s FireFish.
“Pictures and video never do it justice,” Jackson said. “It may look cool in videos, but it definitely looks better in person, especially on that big a scale.”