Akron artist Don Drumm celebrates the total eclipse and his 89th birthday with new art

Sometimes the planets just seem to line up.

Such is the case for Akron artist Don Drumm and the total eclipse coming to northern Ohio on April 8.

Drumm has long incorporated the sun in his whimsical artistic metal designs.

And the fact that he will turn 89 just three days after the first total eclipse in Akron in some 200 years was too momentous of an occasion to let pass by without some fanfare.

So Drumm and his daughter, Leandra, set out months ago designing some commemorative pieces for the eclipse.

Drumm said he hadn't given much thought about the eclipse − or his birthday, for that matter − until his close friend and federal judge John Adams nudged him to consider coming up with some designs that incorporated the moon and sun.

He came up with three designs in varying sizes that range from $75 to $175 and Leandra created three ornaments that cost $24.

And to celebrate Drumm's birthday, the studio plans to offer customers who visit the gallery on Crouse Street − not far from the University of Akron campus − a special commemorative reusable bag with a $25 purchase on April 11.

Leandra said the studio brought back the bags that were once sold at Acme a few years ago as a way to thank loyal customers at the gallery.

A new one is typically offered in limited quantities by the gallery around the holidays.

But Leandra said the eclipse and her dad's birthday seemed like the perfect time to do another one.

Drumm eclipse artwork proves to be very, very popular

The Drumm Studios and Galleries put the commemorative pieces up for sale online last weekend and within an hour they sold out.

"We did not expect that," Leandra said.

Since it takes some time to create the metal pieces, they were a bit reluctant initially to place a second order to create more as there was no way they could be ready and shipped before the eclipse.

Again, much to their surprise, Leandra said, customers still wanted the eclipse pieces even though they would not arrive before the celestial event.

The studio plans to once again open its website for orders of the eclipse artwork at dondrummstudios.com.

The challenge with the eclipse from an artistic point of view, Drumm said, is the fact you have two round planets.

So the father and daughter took some artistic license and have a crescent moon crossing over the sun in some of the works.

And Leandra − just for fun − incorporated a pair of sunglasses, err eclipse glasses, in her design.

"When you think about the moon, people more think about a half moon," Drumm said.

Why is the sun in so many of Don Drumm's pieces of art?

Drumm will jokingly tell you when you find something you're good at − you stick with it.

But his attraction to the sun began many moons ago.

Drumm attended Hiram College for two years in the 1940s and switched from pre-med to art after struggling with calculus.

It wasn't until later in life that he discovered his academic troubles were likely in part because of his dyslexia.

A Hiram art professor pushed him to transfer to a bigger school to study art.

Drumm said one of his early art assignments at Kent State was to closely study a circle.

The problem and beauty of a circle, he said, is that it is already complete.

He then began to imagine how you could add artistic flair to something that was already perfect.

This led him to the sun.

So he began tinkering with the idea of rays emanating from it and eventually the human element of a face.

Leandra said it wasn't until later in her own life when she too took up art that she noticed something rather peculiar about her dad's many sun art pieces.

"They say artists put a bit of themselves in their art and I believe the suns all have my dad's nose," she said with a laugh.

Drumm's not saying whether his daughter's assertion is on the nose.

"You draw what you know," he said.

What's next for Don Drumm after he turns 89?

Drumm's curiosity with metal artwork was forged after he opened his first studio in the 1960s next to a foundry.

It was there he learned the metal craft thanks to a rather patient and friendly neighbor Claude Rainbolt, who ran the foundry and worked in cast aluminum.

Drumm said he still has ideas for new artwork floating around in his head.

He plans to continue to work in his studio across the street from the main gallery, which is part of a complex of eight buildings, including Leandra's studio, that stretch across the Crouse Street block.

"I started doing this for the fun of it and before I knew it people started collecting it," he said.

Drumm said he would like to create one more large scale public piece in the spirit of his towering, stainless steel sculpture that graces the Valley View Area at Cascade Valley Park in Akron and just needs to find a willing partner.

He loves the way the stainless steel reflects the sun unlike his other pieces, like his famous sculpture on the Kent State campus that still bears the scar of a National Guardsman's bullet that are designed to absorb light and age.

As for the day of the big eclipse, Drumm said, it will be "just another day at the gallery," although he might wander out from his studio to take a gander at his friend the sun.

"I'll just put on my welding helmet and look up."

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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron artist Don Drumm celebrates total eclipse with new works