Artist: Jerry Vrabec:

"Ironman"
Article printed in The London Free Press,
Saturday, July 12, 2003

By Sarah Ruttan

Oscar Wilde once said, "The manner of an artist is essentially individual, the method of an artist is absolutely universal. The first is personality, which no one should copy; the second is perfection, which all should aim at."

It's taken 15 years for Jerry Vrabec to achieve perfection in his artistic world since he opened his 659 Central Avenue iron works studio in 1988, where he will be hosting his art show next Saturday - he now counts solely on his art he creates at his to pay the bills.

As for personality, Vrabec has that all wrapped up.

"I'm a little bit inventor, a little bit artist, and I'm still dreaming," said Vrabec through a thick Czechoslovakian accent.

Vrabec can make and build just about anything but his specialty is iron; this includes things like patio furniture and accessories, gates, fences and arches and other entranceway items, to name a few.

As for his pieces, well you get what you pay for, as far as he is concerned.

"My prices aren't like what you see at Canadian Tire. These are one of a kind. These are the one and only and you won't see them anywhere else," he said.

Items such as Vrabec's original wine racks start at about $800 or more, depending on the size and the detail. The same can be said for his baker's racks, which sell for $1,300 and up.

He also creates round tables with cast iron legs and tops made of crushed tile, ideal for a kitchen or dining room, and start at around $2,000.

Aside from his home accessories, Vrabec also dabbles in other forms of art.

On a trip to Algonquin Park he collected odd bits and pieces, which eventually became a sculpture, entitled Heritage of Canada. The piece includes a piece of wood, a feather, a trap used for animals, an unidentified animal bone and a knife.

"It's hard to put a prize on these kinds of things," said Vrabec.

"You put so much time and there is so much detail, I find it difficult to put a price on things."

Vrabec was born and was raised in Prague, Czechoslovakia, and came to Toronto in 1984 to work as a goldsmith.

Four years later he came to London to work in the visual arts department at the University of Western Ontario.

Eventually he was able to leave the university to work full-time at his passion.

Vrabec now works worth a handful of local designers and consultants, one of those being Linda McLean.

"Jerry is an amazing talent in this city and it's a shame that more people don't about him," said McLean, whom Vrabec refers to as his angel.

"This man can do anything. If I can dream it up, he can do it."

And that he certainly has.

McLean had a client with a rug too large for any room to do it justice, and too heavy to hang securely on a wall, or so was thought.

Instead of rolling it up and throwing in storage, McLean had Vrabec design something attractive and secure to anchor it safely and attractively - all important - to the wall.

"Not only did he come up with something that would work fabulously, he hung it on the wall as well. How many people would do that?"

McLean has used Vrabec many times since then and is always happy with the outcome.

"The key is his range," she said.

"He truly is an eccentric. I have met very few, but his is certainly an eccentric. It goes with his talent," she laughed.

What intrigues McLean the most though about this local artist is his ability to look at every project as a challenge.

"He never says 'It can't be done,' he says 'How can it be done?'"

Another client of McLean's needed a pedestal to accommodate a large piece of glass he wanted to use as a table top in his dining room.

"We started with some sketches and had a concept," said Londoner Harold Hugel, of the dining table pedestal Vrabec custom-made.

"Between the three of us we came up a super-strong base to hold the glass," he said through a laugh, recalling Vrabec jumping up onto the table after the glass had been installed to demonstrate its durability.

Hugel's banking job takes him all over the globe, and thus is able to shop and take advantage of new and unusual trends the world over, but never came across something that would house the glass tabletop.

"I looked all over, but everything I found was so mass-produced," said Hugel, adding that a mass-produced piece was not what her was looking for.

Hugel had been a client of McLean's for years and when she suggesting testing Vrabec he didn't hesitate.

"I trust Linda, and I think it's important to support local art," he said.

"It was fun to start from scratch and see where things would go.

And (the pedestal) is in keeping with the rest of the theme of the house," said Hugel, whose home is of a Mediterranean genre.

"And it's certainly a conversation piece. Everyone always comments on it."

Vrabec learned his craft while a young man in Prague in an engineering factory, and eventually as an airplane machinist.

"All my life I've done something with my hands," he said pointing out various objects and pieces of art strewn across his workshop.

When things have been tough and money tight, Vrabec has worked on cars, of all makes and models, fixing parts and going as far as rebuilding engines.

"I'm an observer, I guess, I'm always looking around, looking to see what's going on, seeing what people don't see," he said of his success.

Now that Vrabec is living his dream, his creations have left a mark all over London.

His wrought iron work can been seen in the windows of Garlic's Restaurant on Richmond Street, Bloomers at the Market, a florists in Covent Garden Market, and the chimney sweeper at the Marienbad Restaurant on Carling, as well as numerous homes in the area.

"The best thing I give people, which is better than money - which is nice, sure - but the best part is look on their faces when they see the finished product," he said.

"I love that wow look they get - that's what keeps me going."