A mosaic of 5000 history grows as Ethiopian Cultural Garden nears complition

By Lynn Ischay, The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio — From across the street, Ernesto “Ernie” Spinelli looks like a 20-something kid: black pant legs pulled up unevenly to the knees, ball cap on backward with curls spilling everywhere, well-defined calf muscles ending in fashionable work shoes.

The 70-year-old on the scaffolding at Cleveland’s new Ethiopian Cultural Garden would laugh at that notion. On closer look, he is also wearing a knee brace and back support, but he still looks pretty spry.

Spinelli, a classically trained mosaic artist, has been working on the mosaic wall for three months outside, on the east side of Martin Luther King Drive, and before that, three more months making 1-square-foot-tiles from colorful tile pieces a quarter-of-an-inch square. The wall, one side made of five panels and the other just one, will be an integral part, Phase One, of the Ethiopian Garden. Which is a pretty big deal, given that the garden will be the first of Cleveland’s more than 30 Cultural Gardens to represent a country from the African continent.

Spinelli, whose mother is Ethiopian and father Italian, lived in Ethiopia until he was 14 or 15, he says, troweling mortar on a piece of tile.

He calls the wall a labor of patience. “Just like large Renaissance paintings,” he says. “One-square-foot at a time. I have 196 different colors of tile. I didn’t even see the winter, the work made it go by so fast.”

The images on the five panels of the north-facing wall represent 5,000 years of history.

“At the beginning, there is Lucy and cave paintings,” he says, using his hand to wipe away dust.

“There are the ancient tribes of Ethiopia, the Christian church. After the emperor died there’s the end of a dynasty, and lastly the Eye of the Almighty, or Big Brother is watching,” he says with a laugh. “But how do you put 5,000 years in a small, simple space?”

On the south side of the wall is a single mosaic image of the sun. “The sun is central to most cultures,” he says, back atop his scaffold. He doesn’t stop, not for lunch, and not long for visitors who stop regularly to ask what he’s doing. “Sun is life, it is light it is warmth, it is everywhere. It is also deadly.”

Spinelli, and his assistant David Tufts, are working quickly to finish the wall for the late August dedication, which the Ethiopian Ambassador to the U.S., the Honorable Fitsum Arega, is to attend.

“Wait until we clean this up,” Spinelli says of the dust covering the wall. We leave it dirty until we’re finished, or it will attract too much attention. We’ll never get any work done,” he laughs. “But, it will be remarkable. Electricians will install night lighting, landscapers will put in flowers that will make it look like the panels of the wall are sprouting from them,” he says, with a bit of pride.

“Thank God for art. It’s the universal language, good enough to break through modern tribalism of today.”

The Phase One dedication of the Ethiopian Cultural Garden will be Saturday, August 24, from 1-3 p.m. Afterward, there will be a dedication reception at Empress Taytu, the Ethiopian restaurant at 6125 St. Clair Ave., Cleveland.

On Sunday, August 25, Ethiopian Ambassador to the U.S., the Honorable Fitsum Arega will be the Grand Marshall of the One World Day Parade of Flags. Ethiopian community members will be the first in line to lead the parade.View Comments (1)

Classically trained mosaic artist Ernie Spinelli adds mortar for the next tile on the new monument in the Ethiopian Cultural Garden on Martin Luther King Blvd. Spinelli, whose mother is Ethiopian and father Italian, lived in Ethiopia until he was in his mid-teens. He has been working on the wall for six months, making one foot square tiles from colorful pieces half an inch square. The wall represents 5,000 years of history, from cave paintings and Lucy’s skeleton through the ancient tribes of Ethiopia, Christianity and ending with the sun, and the “watchful eye of the Almighty” Spinellis says. On the other side, which will be seen by northbound traffic, is a huge image of the sun, which has been important to all civilizations. The outdoor work, with the help of assistant David Tufts has been going on for three months. They will soon be finished, will shine up the stones, and the grand opening will include the Ethiopian Ambassador to the US. (Lynn Ischay/The Plain Dealer)

Ethiopian history told in mosaic as phase one of garden nears completionArtist Ernie Spinelli shows the size of the tile pieces he uses to build one square foot tiles for the new monument in the Ethiopian Cultural Garden on Martin Luther King Blvd. They will soon be finished, will shine up the stones, and the phase one dedication will include the the Honorable Fitsum Arega, Ethiopian Ambassador to the US. (Lynn Ischay/The Plain Dealer)

Ernie Spinelli wipes away dust to expose the vivid colors of tile in the mosaic wall he is working on at the Ethiopian Cultural Garden on Martin Luther King Blvd. He has been working on the wall for six months, the last three outside. The murals represent 5,000 years of history and the wall is phase one of the work being done to create the first cultural garden from the African continent. The dedication of phase one, with a visit from the Ethiopian ambassador, the Honorable Fitsum Arega, will be on Saturday, August 24, from 1-3 p.m. (Lynn Ischay/The Plain Dealer)

South facing wall of the monument is a single panel, a mosaic of the sun, which has been important to most civilizations.

Mosaic artist Ernie Spinelli, right, adds mortar for the next tile on the new monument in the Ethiopian Cultural Garden on Martin Luther King Blvd. The outdoor work, with the help of assistant David Tufts, left, has been going on for three months. They will soon be finished, will shine up the stones, and the phase one dedication will include a visit from the Honorable Fitsum Arega, the Ethiopian Ambassador to the US. (Lynn Ischay/The Plain Dealer)

David Tufts, assistant to artist Ernie Spinelli, wipes away dust to expose the vivid colors of tile in the mosaic wall he is working on at the Ethiopian Cultural Garden with artist Ernesto Spinelli. The phase one dedication is Saturday, August 24, from 1-3 p.m. The Honorable Fitsum Arega, Ethiopian ambassador to the US, will be attending, and will be the Grand Marshall of the One World Parade of Flags. A reception following Saturday’s dedication will be at Empress Taytu, the Ethiopian restaurant on St. Claire Avenue. (Lynn Ischay/The Plain Dealer)

Artist Ernie Spinelli squeezes a sponge to prepare the surface for the next tile on the new monument in the Ethiopian Cultural Garden on Martin Luther King Blvd. Spinelli, whose mother is Ethiopian and father Italian, lived in Ethiopia until he was in his mid-teens. He has been working on the wall for six months, making one foot square tiles from colorful pieces half an inch square. The wall represents 5,000 years of history, from cave paintings and Lucy’s skeleton through the ancient tribes of Ethiopia, Christianity and ending with the sun, and the “watchful eye of the Almighty” Spinellis says. On the other side, which will be seen by northbound traffic, is a huge image of the sun, which has been inportant to all civilizations. The outdoor work, with the help of assistant David Tufts, has been going on for three months. They will soon be finished, will shine up the stones, and the dedication of phase one will be Saturday, August 24th, from 1-3. (Lynn Ischay/The Plain Dealer)

Source Cleveland