Arts, Crafts 

   The House of David Artwork is known and soughtt after throughout the midwest, and many who don't know it as "House of David" have probably seen it and thought it was Art-deco. These pieces of art have been called by many to be some of the finest statuary they have ever seen. Very early on, in roughly 1923, the House of David wanted to offer a nice quality souvenir to their visitors at the House of David Amusement Park. They began to make their artwork out of plaster in these early days, but with the great number of pieces that were being purchased and taken back to places around the country, they found out that plaster was very brittle, and didn't make it back in one piece many times. So they set out to invent a product that was as easy as plaster to create, but yet would not have the breakage qualities, and would be nearly as strong as stone. Using a product totally unique to the colony, they made over 1000 different types of statues, figures and plaques which they shipped all around the world. This unique product is called "Hydro-stone", invented by the House of David craftsmen, and was an unusual mixture of a very hard plaster/marble-type substance which was then finished with a pearlized-ivory type finish. The "pearlized/ivory" finish was actually created by grinding up fish scales, and then adding banana oil to give each piece an antiqued look. After buffing the finish out, these pieces were used as free-standing statues, bookends, ashtrays, pen-holders, plant stands, etc. Many featured animals, and religious scenes, while others were more gothic with cherubs, chariots and the like. The Artist in charge of all these works was an Italian man by the name of Frank Rosetta, who is being considered for national recognition. These pearlized pieces range from 2 inches to 7 feet tall, and literally hundreds of beautiful pieces of artwork are very proudly displayed at the House of David Museum. Many of these pieces were featured on this areas "Blossomland Parade" floats, and footage of these older floats is available to the Museum. We also seek photographs, postcards, etc. featuring these brilliant pieces.

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