"La Casona," Ixtlan del Rio, Mexico
Artist John Ebersole combines ancient styles with contemporary ideas
By Bethany A. Monk
Assistant Editor
As a child, John Ebersole was used to his mother’s interest in his opinion on “this color or that
color” in any given painting she was working on. A well-accomplished oil and pastel portrait
artist, she ensured there would be no lack of art in the family home.
Sometimes she took her canvas and her paints to the back porch to paint. “She was more of a
kitchen table kind of artist,” the Santa Barbara native said of his mother, Ruth Singer.
For Ebersole, the process of evolving into an artist has been more subtle. He showed interest in
art and had always been creative from an early age, but it wasn’t until a little later on in life, in the 1990's,
he said, that he really found his niche.
Ebersole specializes in “making something look like something it’s not.” He loves Petroglyphs, and
aspects of ancient Maya and Egyptian culture, etc.
When people see his sculptures for the first time, many think they are seeing painted rocks. Then
they pick them up and are surprised at how light they are.
To get the “rock look,” Ebersole uses a homemade recipe of paper pulp and white glue, a kind of
high-end papier-mâché mixture.
“Nothing is ever intended to be a replica,” he said of his work, such as a sculpture of a man’s
face and head he created after viewing a photo. It’s not the same man, and it’s not a copy.
“A Little at Odds” by John Ebersole. Photo by Bethany A. Monk
One of Ebersole’s passions is Mexico, where many years ago he studied with Mexican artist
Miguel Angel Sanchez. It was Ebersole’s introduction to sculpture, which quickly became his passion.
“I think and feel in 3-D,” he said. “I need to have three ‘D’s’ to get around and express myself.”
Mexico became a part of Ebersole’s life. In the decade of the 2000's, he spent half of every year in Ixtlán
del Río, a small town in Nayarit, Mexico, renting the same house and spending all his time
working on his craft.
