Visitors to the Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art can view “The Artful Soul of Faust,” 14 large scale agate cameos created by German father-and-son carvers Hans Dieter Roth and Andreas Roth, Oct. 17-Jan. 7, 2024.
Anyone interested in learning how those amazing artworks were created can watch part of the process and have their questions answered when Andreas Roth presents a demonstration from 1-4 p.m. Oct. 21 at the Museum, 1220 Kensington Road in Oak Brook.
The demonstration is free with museum admission of $10 adults; $8 seniors; $5 students, teens, and children 7-12. Children under 7 are free.
Museum Director Dorothy Asher said that they invited Andreas Roth to do a demonstration because they are once again exhibiting “The Artful Soul of Faust,” which is now owned by the museum.
“We had it on display in 2021,” Asher said. “Then we took it down but so many people wanted to see it again.” When Asher learned that Roth was going to be in Chicago, she decided to put the cameos out again and have the carver do a demonstration.
“Andreas is a little bit different than his father in that I think he’s a little bit more modern in his cameo interpretation,” Asher said.
The demonstration will be projected on a large screen so people can more easily see what Roth is doing.
“They’ll learn how cameos actually are made,” Asher reported. “I think a lot of people think things are attached in the cameos. It’s all one piece. They’re carving down into it from the top color down into the darker lower colors. To actually see an artist doing it live is pretty incredible.”
Andreas Roth followed in his father’s footsteps when he chose his career.
“As a child, I often watched my father at work,” Roth said. “I was amazed at what my father could make out of a stone. Of course, I wanted to do that, too.” The artist declared that being a gemstone engraver is his dream job.
Learning from his father wasn’t easy, though. Roth recalled that his dad was strict and required discipline, punctuality, and order. “My father gave me important advice,” Roth recalled. He was told, “You can learn the most by watching.”
Roth noted that he and his father began creating large cameos out of agate because they were looking for new challenges. “We had the idea of immortalizing stories in stone,” Roth said. “Our entire workshop had to be changed to engrave such large stones.”
He credits the materials they are working with for inspiring what they carve. “There must be a harmony between stone and motif,” Roth explained. “It may be that the stone has been in the closet for several years and suddenly you have the idea of what you can do with the stone.”
The requirements for being a stone carver include drawing well and having a steady hand, Roth reported. “My father always said, 50% can be learned and 50% is in your blood and genes.”
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Roth’s latest project is creating cameos on the Old Testament which is planned to include 12 large agate slabs and agate bowls.
A third generation will soon be added to the family business. “I never had to encourage my daughter,” Roth said. “She always wanted to become a gemstone cutter. She started an apprenticeship as a gemstone cutter at HC Arnoldi on Sept. 4.”
Roth said that people attending his demonstration at Lizzadro “will see unique works of art and will hopefully be excited about my work and spread the word in a positive way.”
For more details about the exhibit, demonstration, or museum, call 630-833-1616 or visit lizzadromuseum.org.
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter.