100-year-old home brought to life as art exhibition

By Shanti Lerner

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    SANTAQUIN, Utah (KSTU) — The small house on Main Street in Santaquin is a home that’s had a long life; built in the late 1870s by a pioneering family by the name of Robbins, who still own it today.

But while the outside of the house is in disrepair, the inside has found new life, thanks to local artist Ryan Hymas.

“The plan was to do one exhibition here, and just fill up the walls with the stuff that I’ve been creating,” Hymas said. “And and then Carolyn, the owner, it was her idea that I stay in the house and continue to use it as a studio.”

Hymas doesn’t live in the house but has used every corner to display the art he’s been creating for over a year.

“Part of theme of the whole exhibition has been that it is a sad and beautiful world,” Hymas said. “And so I tried to take a lot of the pain and the sadness of that’s happening with me, and what’s happening with my friends in the substance abuse disorder community and recovery community and put some of that pain into the art.”

Hymas, who is 11 years sober from substance and alcohol abuse, says much of his art is made from recycled materials and objects found on the property.

“It’s a really kind of a chaotic beautiful kind of a thing,” said visitor Jarome Miller. “We are so used to seeing a canvas with not a lot of texture and beautiful strokes but he brought together a lot of things that don’t necessarily go together but made them into a cohesive thing. I look around and I see a lot of cool meaning.”

For Tara Greenwood and her mother, Carolyn Robbins-Huff, who owns the house, Ryan’s art has given the old home a second chance.

“Ryan’s art has brought such an amazing spirit to the house,” said Greenwood. “Because there’s so many people that come in, because they see the art they’re just driving by and they’re wondering what this is, then they pull in.”

The exhibition at 218 West Main Street, open until June 15, is free to public, but Ryan’s art is for sale. A portion of the proceeds will go to substance abuse treatment and recovery.

“I’m coming up on 11 years sober myself, and there’s no way that I could have recovered or got back on my feet without the help that was freely given to me,” said Hymas. “And so I’m just trying to ripple the love that was given to me on to others that are trying to recover as well.”

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