ALANSON, MI — Turning lemons into lemonade is George Pappas’ inspiration, but in this case, he’s turned bark into beauty.

When the 82-year-old moved to the El Rancho Resort Park in Alanson two years ago, he loved everything about the park except the tree stump in his front yard.

“The stump was ugly so I tried to improve it using my imagination,” Pappas said. “I started messing around with paint last spring and that’s what came out.”

This is not the first time Pappas has turned an ugly duckling into a swan — he has also painted a driveway and a patio with sunflowers at his other home in Alabama. In addition to painting, his other passion is artificial stained glass.

“I like to get into art— it gives me something to do,” he said. “I enjoy taking scraps of Plexiglas and putting them together to create something that’s original.”

While Pappas does not call his pieces works of art, he’s most proud of being able to create something unique that no one else can. Many of his pieces are inspired from prints of works of art he finds at the library. He makes a copy of the images he likes and tries to recreate them using stained Plexiglas.

“I think everybody should have some sort of hobby to allow them to be creative,” he said. “Also art is a great way to be remembered. It’s better than a card because it’s more of a keepsake and a reminder of the person who gave it to them.”

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