UAW Chrysler members put creativity on the line

UAW Local 869 member Loel Gnadt, left, earned second place for his precision wood turning expertise.
Master of metal and flame, Dennis Sabatowich, middle, of UAW Local 140 earned first place in the competition.
Third-place winner Richard Weber, right, of UAW Local 1268 merged a montage of 45 photos to create an 8-foot long print, shown below.

By day, UAW Local 140 member Dennis Sabatowich is a weld inspector with 37 years of experience mastering metal and flame.

When the autoworker goes home, hands that toil for industry become tools of creative expression.

This year, Sabatowich transformed a drain culvert, muffler part, valve seal, drill bit and fence post cap into an elegant symbol of the combat, starvation and tragedy of civil war in western Sudan. That artistry earned him first place in the 2010-2011 Artists at Work competition.

His work, warm and sympathetic, raises awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Africa by capturing a moment in a Darfur refugee’s flight to freedom.

"I was trying to picture what an individual would look like after weeks of wandering in a desert, looking for help," Sabatowich said.

Sponsored by the UAW-Chrysler National Training Center (NTC) in Detroit, the exhibition features 85 artworks – ranging from sculpture and painting to blown glass and photography – by 39 UAW-represented and nonbargaining unit Chrysler employees.

It is the nation’s only juried art show jointly sponsored by a major corporation and a labor union.

Since 1999, the program has showcased 1,017 pieces of art by 486 Chrysler employees.

"This remains a tremendous example of the creativity, diversity and expertise of our members," said UAW Vice President General Holiefield, director of the union’s Chrysler Department. "By day, these workers focus on industrial tasks, but when they go home, they craft exhibit-quality works of art. It’s an amazing and inspiring contrast."

Michael Brown, the NTC’s corporate co-director, said the 23 UAW members and 16 nonrepresented Chrysler Group LLC employees in the recent exhibit represent workers from 15 locations in the United States.

"Artists at Work is an integral part of the UAW-Chrysler culture," said Brown. "We place a high priority on recognizing employees who set high standards and help to give the Chrysler Group a competitive edge. These employee-artists are a multitalented group who do just that."

Whether metal, wood, canvas, glass or photography, the creativity, individually and jointly, inspires.

Loel Gnadt, an electrician at Chrysler’s Warren (Mich.) Stamping plant and UAW Local 869 member, earned second place for his precision wood turning expertise. His winning entry features three parts: Emulation, a vase; Snake Eyes, a candy dish, and Hollow Form, a rounded vessel. The carvings, crafted with chisels and gouges, feature smooth layers and dramatic color.

"I always had a feeling of creativity in my bones, and I thought it was going to be expressed through music," he said, "but that didn’t work out."

UAW Local 1268 member Richard Weber, an assembler at Belvidere (Ill.) Assembly, won third place with "Tuesday Morning – Belvidere, Illinois," a montage of photos capturing a moment in time worth preserving. His work features 45 merged photographs enhanced with photo editing to form one 8-foot-long print.

"I felt it was important to capture this street-level view of our smalltown America because once a large period of time passes, you can’t go back and record it," said Weber.

Five UAW members were among the eight Artists at Work participants who received honorable mentions in the 2010-2011 competition. The list includes:

• Michael Cattane, photographer, Chrysler Technology Center (CTC), Auburn Hills, Mich., photography

• James Donnellon, product engineer, CTC, blown glass

• Stanford J. Giles, millwright, Kokomo, Ind., UAW Local 1166, metal engraving

• Phillip H. Hill, Sr., toolmaker, jig and fixture, Mount Elliott Tool and Die in Detroit, UAW Local 212, drawing

• Michael M. Lynch, skilled trades safety trainer, Belvidere (Ill.) Assembly, UAW Local 1268, photography

• Catherine Stoey, photographer, CTC, UAW Local 412, photography

• Tammie Wilson, human resources assistant, UAW-Chrysler National Training Center, Detroit, photography

• Ghevarghese Yohannan, electrician, Sterling Stamping, Sterling Heights, Mich., UAW Local 1264, wood sculpture

In addition to the autoworkers’ art, the talents of five students from Detroit’s Woodbridge Community Youth Center’s after-school program were recognized in the Youth in Focus section of the exhibition. The grade-school entrants took photography classes taught by respected photojournalist Monica A. Morgan at the Woodbridge center.

Class funding was provided by the Leave the Light on Foundation, established by the UAW’s Holiefield. The young participants were:

• Aminah Brown, eighth grade, Henry Ford Center for Creative Studies

• Amanie Hendon, fifth grade, Edmonson Elementary School

• Rekeisha Lake, sixth grade, Edmonson Elementary School

• Sakinah Phifer, seventh grade, Detroit Academy of Arts and Science

• Markquitta Reed, seventh grade, University Preparatory Academy

The foundation also has supported other aspects of the youth center’s diverse after-school program.

Sandra Davis

The Artists at Work exhibit will remain at the UAW-Chrysler NTC in Detroit and its Technology Training Center in Warren, Mich., for one year. The exhibit is online at uaw-chrysler.com