MANSFIELD — Jaws dropped as people filed into Berean Baptist Church, peering up at the white, shimmering star hanging from a window inside the sanctuary.
“How beautiful,” one person remarked.
The star was part of the church’s Christmas display last year and was meant to represent the Star of Bethlehem, which revealed the birth of Jesus Christ to the wise men.
Art Haring, a member of Berean, volunteered to create the star with the help of fellow church member, Bob Kurtz.
“I was a little nervous about the project, but it all worked out,” Haring said.
The project took about a month to complete. Haring said he used Plexiglas to construct the 42-by 50-inch star, which he covered in crystal pieces that he purchased from Hobby Lobby.
One of the most challenging parts of the project was creating the backdrop to cover the 7-by-15-foot window, he said.
As a finishing touch, Haring added long strands of sequins that fell from the star to a Bethlehem silhouette, making it appear as though light was illuminating the town.
“I heard many good comments from people about Art’s decorating, specifically the star on the stained glass window,” Senior Pastor Nate Meiers said. “One even said they wouldn’t mind if it stayed up there all year ‘round.”
Meiers added, “I believe his use of subtlety, color, light and shape is a beautiful aid to worship – drawing us to God without distracting us with the mechanics of the art.”
Haring was happy with the final project. “That was the exciting part–to see it come together. That’s true of any art project,” he said.
Turns out, Haring has a history of making spaces look nice.
When he attended Ontario Christian Fellowship Church, he was responsible for the yearly Christmas decorations, he said. He even designed the original architecture for the church’s chapel, he said.
He spent the majority of his career as an interior designer, taking 17 years off from 1969 to 1986 to serve as a missionary with his late wife Inge at an orphanage in Brazil.
After Haring returned to United States in the late ’80s, he started his own business, Art Haring Interiors, with his daughter Rachel.
Haring worked on a number of properties–both residential and commercial–in the area.
He even created the architectural design for a Tidewater-style home in Mansfield that was featured in Colonial Homes magazine.
Later on, he became acquainted with Juvenile Court Judge Ron Spon through his interior design business. “We became friends and he hired to me to work in the court with a program called CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates),” Haring said.
He worked as the head of the CASA program for 11 years and currently serves as a volunteer. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s rewarding,” he said of CASA. “You can do a lot of good.”
Now that he’s retired, Haring still does some interior design work for friends, family and former clients and helps out with art projects at the church.
Haring’s fascination with art started at a young age. His teachers at Lucas Local Schools would push art projects that they needed done his way, helping him develop as an artist since there were no art courses at Lucas Schools at the time, he said.
After graduating from high school in 1958, he enrolled in The Ohio State University. “When I got to Ohio State, I told my professor that I hadn’t taken any art classes. He said, ‘Good. You’re a clean slate,'” Haring said.
Haring majored in interior design and ended up earning a bachelor of fine arts degree.
He said that Ohio State’s art school during the late 50s was oriented toward abstract expressionism. That style of art became his forte. “I would call myself an abstract expressionist,” he said.
While he’s proficient in various media, his medium of choice is oil painting. “I loved oil painting and still do,” he said.
And though many compliments are thrown his way for doing such good artwork, he doesn’t take all the credit.
“I’ve learned a lot from reading the Old Testament that God capacitated men in the arts to build the tabernacle, and I believe that He gives people that ability to be able to create such magnificent works, he said.
“So over the years, I’ve realized that it’s God’s work, and I want to use that talent to glorify Him and bless others.”
