e m o H

Aikens Only Weekly Real Estate Product

Hunter
Sunday, July 28, 2013

2 | Sunday, July 28, 2013

Home Hunter

CYAN-AOOO

MAGENTA-OAOO

YELLOW-OOAO

BLACK 012908

Home Hunter

Sunday, July 28, 2013 |

CYAN-AOOO

MAGENTA-OAOO

YELLOW-OOAO

BLACK 012908

4 | Sunday, July 28, 2013

Home Hunter

Home Hunter
is online at:
www.aikenstandard.com
Click on Real Estate.

CYAN-AOOO

MAGENTA-OAOO

YELLOW-OOAO

BLACK 012908

Home Hunter

Sunday, July 28, 2013 |

CYAN-AOOO

MAGENTA-OAOO

YELLOW-OOAO

BLACK 012908

6 | Sunday, July 28, 2013

Home Hunter

Siding with the stars and stripes at a home for the brave
By Alexa Vaughn The Seattle Times/MCT SEATTLE After 9/11, Rich Ormbrek bought the biggest flag he could find one about 16 feet wide and nailed it to the eaves of his bright orange house in Ballard, Wash. We wanted to let the terrorists know they cant intimidate us, said Ormbrek, now 70. But there was a little problem with Ormbreks show of patriotism: Wind constantly blew the flag to the ground or swept it atop his home, sometimes tearing it. Not even attaching the bottom of it to 10 strong stakes stabbed into the lawn worked. My son got really tired of getting the flag off the roof, he said. Daniel Ormbrek one of Ormbreks four kids is in the Army Reserve now after a tour in Afghanistan. Hed come out this window up there to get it, and I got worried he could eventually get really hurt. So, in 2002, father and son found a way to display a flag so that the wind would never knock it down again: They painted a 20-foot-wide flag onto the side of their house at Northwest 73rd Street and 27th Avenue Northwest. But Ormbreks work on the flag wasnt done. Since then, the flags red and white stripes have been overtaken by dynamic rows of hand-painted Americana. Each of the flags more than 300 and counting interchangeable painted tiles capture colorful images of American history, landmarks and pop culture, forming a picturesque mosaic that has become a neighborhood landmark. The flags bright colors initially alarmed Ormbreks neighbor across the street. Ormbrek had used his house to display various political messages before, said Kathleen Galloway, who says she could never quite label him left, right, moderate or libertarian. She wondered what message was coming next. I thought, Maybe itll fade, and my husband said, No! Hes using special anti-fade paint! Galloway, 57, recalled. But when he started putting the paintings up I realized this was folk art. Since then, she says, shes loved it as much as all the other people who drive and walk by and take pictures. Ormbrek loves watching neighborhood kids poke around his yard to get a closer look at it. Now its not political at all. Its more about what I love about this country, Ormbrek said. Were blessed to have people from all over the world that make this country what it is. Ormbrek fits about 160 to 180 of the fiber-cement tiles onto his house with screws, and then switches some in and out throughout the year. Some depict classic landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge, St. Louis Arch and Cadillac Ranch. There are pop-culture-based ones featuring the Wizard of Oz, The Flintstones and The Simpsons. Others highlight Norman Rockwell-type moments such as the one sandwiched between Fourth of July fireworks and Frank Lloyd Wrights Fallingwater house: a row of little girls in tutus fidgeting on a bench. But one of the first tiles painted for the display, the one with We the People scrolled on it, has stayed in place at the top for more than 10 years. Thats the most important one, Ormbrek said. It kind of set the tone for the rest of them. Most of the tiles are painted by Margaret Smart, a foster mother of Ormbreks late wife. The Camano Island, Wash., woman perfected a way of painting on the cement tiles first with primer, then with acrylics. Ormbrek tops the tiles off with a layer of spar varnish, a product usually used on boats, then carefully screws the tiles onto the exterior slats of his home. Just lately I told him, that whole flag has to be filled up by now, Smart said. And he said I know, my kids yell at me because there are tiles all over the house, but I like to change them around. Hes addicted to it. Ormbrek says it was his wifes Native American family who taught him how to love collaborative art that celebrates heritage. Since the 1970s, a replica of a Tlingit-Haida entryway he and his wifes family made together has arched over his front door. In that same spirit, several other family members and friends of all ages have contributed to the collage on Ormbreks American flag. One of those tiles is faded because the son of a friend forgot the paintprimer step, but it still earned a spot on the flag. His isnt up there because its the best painting. Its up there because he was a 12-year-old who wanted to be part of this, Ormbrek said. And, this year, Ormbrek says hes extending the invitation to participate in

the flag to a wider circle of people. Hes not big on email, so anyone who wants to take part can send him a letter: 2615 N.W. 73rd St., Seattle, WA 98117.

Rich Ormbrek turned the outside of his Seattle, Washington, home into a collaborative Americana art project after 9/11. (Bettina Hansen/Seattle Times/MCT)

CYAN-AOOO

MAGENTA-OAOO

YELLOW-OOAO

BLACK 012908

Home Hunter

Sunday, July 28, 2013 |

CYAN-AOOO

MAGENTA-OAOO

YELLOW-OOAO

BLACK 012908

8 | Sunday, July 28, 2013

Home Hunter

CYAN-AOOO

MAGENTA-OAOO

YELLOW-OOAO

BLACK 012908