Seymour Lemonick, who learned to sculpt wood during breaks from teaching and coaching high school football, is holding his first exhibition at age 90, writes Kristen A. Graham for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Lemonick, who transformed his Elkins Park home into a makeshift museum, says he can hardly believe it is finally happening.
His exhibition opened last week at furniture and decor store MidMod Decor in Wyncote. His friends and family traveled from around the country to see his triumphant debut.
“This is beyond my wildest dreams,” said Lemonick.
Making art has given Lemonick purpose and an outlet from a very young age. He began painting while growing up in Olney and Oxford Circle and developed a love for art history as a student at the University of Pennsylvania. But after graduating from Penn, reality intruded.
“I looked at the field and said, ‘There are about four jobs available, and you’re not going to get one,’ so I took a different route,” he said.
He began teaching at Olney High but quickly gravitated toward the school’s wood shop. Woodworking felt like a revelation, and he never looked back.
Lemonick’s sculptures are modern and elegant.
Read more about Elkins Park’s Seymour Lemonick in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
