The House that Sam Built

Occasionally my obsessions and my vocation are in alignment and the result is pure inspiration and joy. Such was the case when working on an issue of the History Center's quarterly journal dedicated to Florida architecture led me to revisit Sam Stoltz's Plymouthonian #3. I had visited the fairytale-inspired structure when the contents were auctioned off a year or two ago, but since then it has been acquired by the perfect owners, Martin and Bob. Martin is a gifted potter and lover of all things Florida, and Bob literally helped write the book on Sam Stoltz. So I was excited to see what the place looked like in their hands.

Stoltz in front of the Mt. Plymouth Hotel, courtesy of Martin Cushman

Copy on this promotional piece reads: "A Plymouthonian
This new type of home marks a new departure in the attractive domiciles which are beautifying NATURE'S PLAYGROUND. The above home on Interlachen Drive overlooks the sporty number ten fairway of the St. Andrews links, and beautiful Lake Plymouth."

Sam Stoltz was a talented commercial artist in Chicago before he moved to Central Florida and turned his talents to creating one-of-a-kind buildings complete with his murals and bird- themed relief decoration. The pinnacle of his work was in Mt. Plymouth, where he designed the hotel and some of the fantastic homes around the course. Of his surviving homes, Plymouthonian #3 is easily the finest example of his talents.

Much of the work Martin and Bob have done has been to painstakingly uncover Sam's handiwork around the exterior of the home including restoring the fountain that flows from the front of the house through a rock-lined stream to a lily pond. Stoltz signature details like painted stone walkways continue to emerge.

But the main difference in the house I first visited and now is the wonderful collection of Floridiana on display. From beautiful Joy Postle bird paintings to Silver Spring pottery, I was envious of this exciting collection of artwork. The space seems meant for this homage to the sunshine state and Martin has found the perfect space for his pottery studio in the garage.

It's a wonderful thing when unique artistic creations are preserved to be admired by future generations. Fortunately, Plymouthonian #3 has the perfect caretakers to ensure that this happens. The brilliant creativity Sam Stoltz exhibited in his buildings is now carried on by this home's latest owners.

An Extravaganza of Florida artists

In addition to great antiques and collectibles, the Renninger's Extravaganza is chock full of great art. The extravaganza portion of the show consists of hundreds of outdoor booths. There is, however, a portion of the market that enclosed and is there year-round. That is where you will find the booth of Martin Cushman.

I have blogged about Martin before, as he is passionate about preserving in clay the aspects of old Florida that I love so much. His subject matter includes the native inhabitants of the sunshine state including its birds, animals and Seminole Indians. His pottery is beautiful and whimsical and it seems to me his work has grown since I last saw it, becoming more detailed and confident. And it is very cool that he even found away to vent his anger over the Gulf oil spill in his work. Martin has a unique voice and I am constantly inspired by the candor of his blog.

Directly across from Martin's booth, I was excited to see a large piece by Florida artist Joy Postle. One of her larger works, this incredibly detailed painting was priced pretty high, showing me that awareness of her work must be on the rise. I expect you'll be hearing more about this wildlife painter, performer and poet in the future.

Outside I found a piece of sculpture for sale by folk artist Jesse Aaron (1887-1979). I'm very familiar with Aaron's work as my best childhood friend's parents were early patrons of the Gainesville artist. Their house was full of his work, I thought it bizarre as a kid, but today I wish I owned some of his work. Coveted by collectors, it's pretty rare to good examples his work on the market. This piece was here last year, and it appears to be in rough shape.


According to Just Above the Water: Florida Folk Art by Kristin G. Congdon and Tina Bucuvalas, Aaron was of mixed African and Seminole Indian descent and he was born in poverty in Lake City, Florida. A manual laborer most of his life, he heard a calling to "carve wood" in 1968 and was prolific the rest of his life, starting his carving at 3 a.m. every day.

Florida State Archives

Drawings of Aaron and his work by Stuart Purser from his book Jesse J. Aaron Sculptor

The common thread among these three artists, is they saw something in their enviornment that we often take for granted. Martin Cushman sees beauty in the native critters and people of Florida (although the Seminoles weren't really indiginous to Florida, but that is a whole story unto itself.) Joy Postle, like Cushman was inspired by our state's natural wonders, especially its birds. And Jesse Aaron saw animals and faces in pieces of wood and created amazing pieces of sculpture out of them. Those of us who live in this state are surrounded by the inspiration for their art on a daily basis. Artists like these three, make us see our world differently and hopefully appreciate it more. They continue to inspire me.

P.S. Special thanks to Martin for the coveted excellence in blogging award!

Great Florida gifts ideas

In my efforts to keep it local this year, here are some of my recommendations for gifts from the Sunshine State:

Davidson of Dundee - this Polk County business offers a wide array of citrus themed products from Tangelo marmalade to Honeybell Orange candy. Available at citrus stands statewide, I purchased several items at Conway's Red Hill Groves, which has been in business since 1962. We've been enjoying a bag of super-sweet Tangelos we bought there last week. Good ol' fashioned Florida fun!

Tropic Bee Honey - also available at most citrus stands, this Edgewater Florida business has been around since 1940.

The History Emporium at the Orange County Regional History Center- has great Florida items including Florida-themed books, vintage citrus labels and plastic lawn flamingoes. Recently featured in Southern Living, the flamingoes have been flying off the shelves after a mention in the magazine. They also have the very sweet Florida citrus wines, which are great for making Sangria. And they have my favorite, Moon Soup from Polk County's Chalet Suzanne Restaurant which was established in 1931.

Big World Studios

Big World Studio features hand-crafted jewelry that is intricate, beautiful and reasonably-priced. My friend Wendy lovingly creates these little masterpieces in her home studio. Likewise for my friend Sonja who makes these beautiful pieces.

Sonja Bone

Florida Art Pottery Studio - at Renningers Antique Market in Mt. Dora features pottery by Martin Cushman. Martin is often there, working at the pottery wheel, throwing pots. In addition to his Florida themed pottery he also has an amazing collection of Florida-themed art.

Martin Cushman

Dawn Schreiner - promotes her work with a Facebook page where she does a doodle of the day, often of members of her Facebook group. I've commissioned her to do several small pieces, which are all on recycled materials (usually the back of cereal boxes.) Her work can be found at Seven Sisters Coffee House, which features fair trade organic coffee. And located right behind Seven Sisters is Wild Woman Chocolate, making hand-crafted organic chocolates like nothing else you have ever tasted. They take their chocolate serious there, and if you do too, this is the place for you!

Yours truly by Dawn Schreiner

Seven Sisters Coffee

Wild Woman Chocolate

These are just a few ideas from Central Florida. I urge you to think what you can do to support individuals in your own community this year.

Floridiana in Mt. Dora

My wife and I headed to Mt. Dora this weekend to look for antiques at Renninger's Antique Market. I also had a hidden agenda: to shoot a couple of roadside items along the way. Despite the heat and humidity, we've been trying to do little day trips this summer, but I still haven't gotten to shoot much roadside architecture. My favorite roadside icon in Mt. Dora is the round orange building on 441 just north of SR 46. Agilitynut's website says this about it: "The Mount Dora Orange was built in 1973. It is 14' in diameter and made of concrete. The Orange was originally used a fruit stand but has been vacant since 1984. It stands pretty far back from the road next to McNamara's Antiques."

The little building is one of the very few surviving examples of novelty architecture in Central Florida and it is a monument to the days when citrus was king in the area. The distressed building faces west, so the best time to photograph it is really in the afternoon hours. Unfortunately we were there in the morning, but there's less of it every time I see it and I don't want to miss an opportunity to get a few shots before it becomes completely engulfed in the wilderness forever.

Just up the road is Renningers Twin Markets, Nirvana for anyone who likes looking at old stuff. Their "extravaganzas" cover the hillside with antique dealers from around the country and there are more cool old things to ogle than you can possibly see in one day. Fortunately those are only 3 times a year. The regular market has enough vintage eye-candy for regular fix of visual ephemera.

After looking at some vintage cameras and old postcards, a booth featuring pottery with colorful Florida imagery caught my eye. The beautiful ceramics have matte glazes similar to Roseville Pottery but the subject matter goes beyond floral to show sunshine state favorites like alligators, manatees, Seminole Indians and wading birds. The potter behind "Florida Art Pottery Studio" is Martin Cushman and he throws the pots right in his Renningers booth. A former Eustis restaurant owner, Cushman honed his pottery skills at Winter Park's Creadle School of Art. After a successful one-man show, he was approached by a pottery dealer from Renningers and the rest is history.


"Being a Floridian, my pots have always been decorated with the beauty of the nature of Florida," says Cushman, "be it spanish moss hanging from old oak trees or alligators lounging in the swamps." His booth echoes that theme and he's knowledgeable of some of Central Florida's obscure wildlife artists, (and this blog's favorites), Joy Postle and Sam Stoltz. My pictures don't do his work justice, go by and see them for yourself!