Marion Gunderson Art (and the Farmer's Daughter)

Written by Clara Gunderson Hoover

(To view Part I, also written by Clara, click here.)

Clara in 1966 with a painting she created. (Click on image to enlarge.)

I was in 4-H for nine years.  The focus changed every year: food and nutrition, clothing, and home furnishings, and then the cycle repeated.  The home furnishings year included a picture study.  In 1952/53, I scored 70% in the picture study contest.  In 1955/56 I gave a picture study on Pileated Woodpecker, by John James Audubon, participated in the picture study contest and wrote that my favorite picture was The Dancers (painting and artist unknown to me now).  My  4-H Record Book contains a certificate for having participated in the 1959 Picture Memory Contest.  Clippings in my Record Book report the Garfield Gleaners visiting art museums in Cherokee and Des Moines. In addition, I wrote that my favorite paintings were Blue Boy (Thomas Gainsborough) and Pinkie (Thomas Lawrence).  I have no idea if they were part of that year’s picture study but recall seeing them at the Huntington Art Gallery in San Marino, California, when we went to the 1959 Rose Bowl.  One year we studied Grant Wood’s Stone City.  What a treat to see the original at the Joslyn Art Museum after my husband and I moved to Omaha.  I believe Grandpa’s (John Gunderson) favorite, The Horse Fair, by Rosa Bonheur, was also one of the 4-H paintings.

For many years, the Rolfe Public Library had a collection of art reproductions people could check out to display in their homes.  Mother took us to the Blanden Art Museum in Fort Dodge.  She exhibited there and participated in some of the museum’s activities.  Later Mother attended art exhibits in cities throughout the country, sometimes with Rolfe friends and other times with her life-long friend, Betty Dix Kirley.  During a 1991 trip to Minneapolis, Mother, Betty Dix and I visited the Walker Art Gallery and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

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On the left side of this 1953 Rolfe Arrow page is a write-up about one of the art exhibits in which Mother (Marion Gunderson) participated. (Click once or twice to magnify the image/text.)

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Mother had taken classes from Richard Leet, then director of the MacNider Art Museum in Mason City.  During summer 1967, my husband and I lived in Charles City, so I drove the 30 miles to Mason City to take painting lessons from Richard Leet.  I learned the importance of white in paintings.  In summer 1973, I was required to take two courses to obtain a Nebraska teaching certificate.  I chose an art history course and absolutely loved it.

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Pictured here is Mother's framed print of Flower Vendor by Diego Rivera. If you click on this image, you'll see Mother's handwriting explaining that this painting was her lasting favorite and why. Her note is not dated.

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Throughout her life, Mother introduced us to art and artists, including Christian Petersen, the Iowa State sculptor who had been one of her instructors at Iowa State; Diego Rivera, whose The Flower Vendor was one of Mother’s all-time favorites; Dale Chihuly and his colorful blown glass sculptures (even at the Joslyn in Omaha); and R.C. Gorman, whose Su-Sho-Ba hung above the dining table in our farm house for as long as I can remember.  How thrilled I was to suddenly see Picasso’s powerful Guernica at the top of the stairs in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.  What fun to see real Calder mobiles in downtown Chicago and at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.  One of my most memorable art experiences with Mother was in spring 1988 when we met in Chicago to see the huge, retrospective exhibit of Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings at the Art Institute of Chicago.  O’Keeffe had long been one of Mother’s favorite artists.  When I discovered the O’Keeffe exhibit was going to be in Chicago, I called Mother to ask if she’d like to meet me there.  The paintings were truly amazing.

Indeed, although I had no art classes in grades K-12, we had many opportunities to learn about art (at least art appreciation, if not production) in a variety of ways and from several people.  It’s been fun to recall those experiences.

Thanks to my siblings for sharing their recollections.  Thank you, also, to Penny Tilden, Rolfe Public Library librarian, and Lola DeWall, Pocahontas Public Library librarian, for their research.

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(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)

Written by Clara Gunderson Hoover

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Mother (Marion Gunderson) was disappointed that the Rolfe Consolidated School did not offer art in any grades.  We had music in elementary grades and listened to the different instruments in Peter and the Wolf but had no art production or appreciation during the time I was in school (1947-1960).
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Carla Jones, as pictured in the 1965 Rolfe Ram yearbook.

In the early sixties, Carla Jones began teaching art in Rolfe.  During her at least ten years in Rolfe, she taught high school art, junior high social studies and, sometimes, elementary art.  My sisters Martha, Louise and Peggy remember Carla as encouraging students and giving them a great deal of latitude in choosing projects.  Martha recalls, “Carla was my first formal art instructor who had me really ‘look’ at something, to see its shape, the lines, the texture, their relationships, and had me do exercises related to those topics on newsprint.  Her lessons were an important foundation for me and very relevant to [art] classes at Iowa State.”
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Recently I’ve reflected on things Mother and others did to help us not only learn about art, but also create art.  Arts and crafts were part of vacation Bible school (VBS).  Steven Graeber is an accomplished potter who grew up in Rolfe and later moved with his family to a farm near West Bend.  He now lives in Evergreen, Colorado, and said his first experience with clay was as an elementary student in VBS.  My brother, Charles, was in the same class, and Mother was their teacher.  They worked with slabs, coils, free forms and pinch pots.  Arts and crafts were the primary motivation for my sister Martha to attend VBS where she made plaster of Paris handprints, loom-woven potholders and small items formed from Popsicle sticks.
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Vera Fisher invited the girls in her high school Sunday school class to her home after school to glaze ceramics and fire them in her kiln.  While few of these projects were original creations, we enjoyed making them and learning about the ceramics process.

From the February 5, 1953, Pocahontas Record-Democrat.

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At least one summer, Mother drove me and some of my siblings to Pocahontas for lessons with Grace Pearl Walters in her Art and Hobby Shop, which at that time was located on the west side of Main Street across from the Rialto Theatre.  Grace was known as the “Bird Lady,” perhaps because her store also sold pets, and traveled to shows and fairs with her items.  I have only a vague memory of being in her classes and suspect I made enameled copper jewelry and created something with beads.

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Pictured is Clara painting at the kitchen table with one of Sharon (Wickre) and Jerry Rickard's sons. (Sharon and Clara are classmates from Rolfe's class of 1960.)

In the summers when I was young, I occasionally accompanied Mother when she painted on location with members of the Barr Art Association.  Once we went to the gypsum plant near Otho; another time we went to either the Pocahontas or Gilmore City elevator.  I took my own small stool, paints, watercolor paper and coffee can of water for rinsing paintbrushes.  Getting to paint with the adults was a treat.  As children, we sometimes watched Mother paint at home and enjoyed seeing her paintings propped up in the kitchen or dining room.  Later, as adults, we smiled as Mother and her grandchildren* (or children of our friends) painted on papers spread across the kitchen table.
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City Hall, Gunnison, Colorado, watercolor by Marion A. Gunderson, 1964. (Click on image to enlarge.)

The summer after her sophomore year in high school, Martha traveled with Mother to a watercolor course in Gunnison, Colorado.  Martha went on some of the painting outings and enjoyed the scenery and peacefulness of the surroundings but doesn’t remember doing much painting herself.  Martha said she was always interested in art and was influenced by Mother as a 4-H leader and by her artistic background, use of color and way of arranging things.  Influenced by both Mother and Carla Jones, Martha majored in applied art at Iowa State.

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*Mother had seven grandchildren. Four of them are pictured here.

“Art Education — Part II” will be posted later this week.

Mother was born 92 years-ago today. Happy Birthday, Doll!  :  )

(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)

The banner photo* across the top of this blog is of one tray of Mother’s (Marion Gunderson) watercolors, a few of her paintbrushes, and her ink pen. Mother’s talent combined with these watercolor supplies has resulted in nearly $3,500 being donated so far to the Rolfe (Iowa) Public Library. Mother worked there for 35 years.

The banner is a portion of the  photo that is immediately below.

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Pictured is one of Mother's watercolor trays and other supplies she used to create approximately 150 paintings. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

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In this next photo, Mother is with two of her grandchildren, Kevin and Abby, in Mother’s cottage on West Lake Okoboji. Mother was always a great one for bringing out her paints or other media for her grandchildren and inspiring their creativity. This (below) painting session took place in September 1981 when our family was at the lake celebrating Mother’s and Daddy’s (Deane Gunderson) 40th wedding anniversary.

Mother is pictured in 1981 with two of her grandchildren, Kevin and Abby. Notice that on the table is one of Mother's two watercolor trays...perhaps the same tray as in the first photo. Mother passed away in 2004 but her watercolor supplies remain dear possessions of four of her daughters. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

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The impetus for this blog was provided by Mother’s watercolors. She painted watercolors as early as 1933 and as recently as 2000. She passed away in 2004. In 2009 while I had three of Mother’s watercolors at Wild Faces Gallery in Rolfe, Iowa, to be framed, another gallery patron, Ruth Simonson**, saw the watercolors and requested to purchase prints of them.

As a result of Ruth’s request, various members of my Gunderson family funded the availability of prints of 28 of Mother’s watercolors. Images of notecards and 27 watercolors/prints as well as ordering information are available here. There is also a limited supply of most of the prints at the Rolfe Public Library and Wild Faces Gallery in Rolfe.

The content of the watercolors/prints varies. Prints are of grain elevators (in Rolfe, Pocahontas and Gilmore City), several florals, train depots, the Iowa State University heating plant, pumpkins, an angel and more.

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*The watercolor supplies banner is seen today, July 2, 2011. At some point it will be replaced with another image.

**Click here to read how Ruth Simonson first learned about Mother before Ruth became a member of the Barr Art Association with Mother.

(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)

Note Cards: The background for this note card image is taken from the lower left corner of Grain Elevator II (Pocahontas, Iowa). The heart is taken from Rag Dolls. This post includes a link for these note cards and for each of the 27 watercolors of which we've had prints made. (Click on photo to enlarge image.)

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To date four of my family members have played a part in having giclee prints made of 27 of Mother’s (Marion Abbott Gunderson 1919-2004) 150+ watercolors. Hopefully tomorrow on December 12, in time for holiday gift giving, there will be a Fort Dodge Messenger column about the prints. As a result of the prints, so far $3,300 has been given to the Rolfe Public Library. The funds will go toward library-related projects, the current one being the digitizing of 101 years of Rolfe newspapers so that they will be available on the Internet.

Update December 12, 2010: To read today’s Messenger column, click here. (The blizzard is delaying deliveries of the Messenger. Any word-of-mouth that you can help with by sharing the link to the column* and/or this blog post will be appreciated.)

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INFORMATION ABOUT MOTHER’S PRINTS/WATERCOLORS

For contact information and information about where these prints may be seen/purchased “in person” click here.

For online ordering information click here.

For background information about some of the original watercolors click here.

For a tribute to Mother click here. For a 1951 Des Moines Tribune article about Mother click here. For blog posts referring to the Barr Art Association click here.

If you don’t want to go to any of those links and just want to contact me directly, that is 100% fine! Louise Gunderson Shimon: 515-465-2746; 14106 Green Dr., Perry, Iowa 50220; mariongundersonart@gmail.com (I’ll be gone part of the week. If you call and get no answer, please leave a message and Bill will get it to me.)

If you have information about any of Mother’s watercolors that you think we might not know about, if you’d let me know, my family would appreciate it so much.

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"Railway Station and Grain Elevator" at Gilmore City, Iowa, painted in 1951. 13.25" W x 17.25" H limited edition prints are available, $35. For those who wish to display the watercolors of the Rolfe, Gilmore City, and Pocahontas grain elevators in a grouping, we have chosen this standard size for all three. The Rolfe Depot prints are very close in size of the grain elevator prints. Also, if matted, a standard sized frame may be used instead of a custom frame.

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TIMELINE

Here is a timeline of when Mother painted the 27 watercolors of which we’ve had prints made so far. Note cards are also available.

1949: Bowling, Sandbox, Ear of Iowa Corn, Grain Elevator I (Pocahontas, Iowa), Grain Elevator II (Pocahontas, Iowa)

1950: Brush and Shaving Mug (pair of watercolors, one dated, one not dated)

1951: Depot (Rolfe, Iowa), Railway Station and Grain Elevator (Gilmore City, Iowa), ISU Heating Plant (Ames, Iowa)

1952: Santa

1953: Coat Tree

1954: Angel in Wine and Blue, Churchyard

1957: Farmstead

1963: El Toro (The Bull)

1966: Eyelashes Under Hat, Yellow Chrysanthemums

1967: Tomatoes

1968: Bright Tulips

1969: Red Flower

1971: Pumpkins

1975: The Farm

1976: Tulips

1993: Rag Dolls

Dates unknown: Grain Elevator (Rolfe, Iowa), Bunny, Picnic Basket

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* Messenger column link: http://www.messengernews.net/page/content.detail/id/535042/Christmas-art–Christmas-gifts–It-s-a-festive-season.html

(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)

Today, November 30, 2010, marks the six-year anniversary of Mother (Marion Gunderson) passing away.

Although Mother sometimes gave the appearance of being prim and proper, those close to her knew she was fun (e.g., as I explained in my Priscilla’s of Boston post). And, she was a great listener. Also, she worked to educate her six children beyond our formal schooling, but repeatedly said, “It doesn’t matter what you know; what’s more important is when you need information, you know where to find it!” True blue Marion the Librarian!

Since starting this blog, I’ve spent so much time researching history that I sometimes wonder if I miss elements of the present. That’s made me wonder if Mother ever felt that way. Then I realize how empty-handed (as far as knowledge of our roots) our family, and the Rolfe community to some extent, would be if Mother hadn’t conducted her extensive genealogical and community research.

Recently I received the advice that researching the past is good as long as a person mixes it up with the reality of the present and also with helping mankind move forward. Clara’s (my oldest sister) post from a year ago shows that Mother did exactly that: loved helping others connect with the past, mixed it with reality of the present…and quietly helped so many people move forward. If you missed it last year (or even if you read it) I hope today you’ll read Clara’s endearing post “Remembering Mother — Marion Gunderson.”

In this photo Mother is getting painting supplies ready for 1987 Christmas-time painting with six of her seven grandchildren at Gunderland. L to R: Mother, Abby, Jonathan, me, Josh and Katie. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

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Works of art in progress! L to R: Tim, Katie, Josh, Abby and Christina. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

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(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)

What’s the difference between this year’s open house and last year’s? This year prints of 26 watercolors are available; last year there were prints of 13 watercolors. This year note cards will be also available, and on Sunday, there will be jewelry by Heather Morphew.

Please check out the 5-Ws information below the photos.

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These three proofs were approved last week. To date, proofs of 26 of Mother's watercolors have been approved. Prints range in price from $15 to $70.

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The items in this jewelry collection were designed and created by Heather Morphew. Heather will have her jewelry available at the open house on Sunday the 14th until mid- or late-afternoon. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

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WHAT

The second annual November holiday open house featuring prints* of Mother’s (Marion Gunderson) watercolors.

Jewelry will be available on the Sunday (the 14^th) of the open house.

WHY

All profits from sales of prints go to the Rolfe (Iowa) Public Library where Mother worked for 35 years. To date, approximately $3,000 has been given to the library.

WHEN

Thursday, November 11: 1:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Saturday, November 13: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Sunday, November 14: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

WHO

Anyone is welcome to attend. I will be hosting.

On Sunday, jewelry designed and created by Heather Morphew will be available. www.morphewdesigns.com

WHERE

14106 Green Dr., Perry, Iowa, Bill’s and my home. (Directions are below.)

MISC.

1. *Prints may also be viewed and ordered online. Print prices range from $15 to $70. www.mariongundersonart.ecrater.com

2. On the Saturday and Sunday of the open house,“Art on the Prairie” will be held in Perry, including at the historic Hotel Pattee. www.destination33.com/artontheprairie

3. Contact information: mariongundersonart@gmail.com (515) 465-2746

4. Background information about Mother is available at this blog. On the home page, click on the “Marion Gunderson” category.

DIRECTIONS to 14106 Green Dr., Perry, IA

Bill’s and my home is 2 ½ (2.5) miles west of Perry, Iowa, on Highway 141.

Or, about 30 minutes northwest of the I35/80 Grimes exit at the northwest edge of Des Moines.

If coming from the east, for example from Des Moines:  Take Highway 141 to Perry until you get to the stoplight that is at the Hy-Vee/McDonalds intersection. From that stop light, continue through the intersection (don’t turn at the intersection) and keep going west another 2 1/2 (2.5) miles past Hull Ave. (gravel) and past H. Ave. (gravel) until paved (not gravel) Green Drive is on your left.  Turn left/south onto Green Drive. Green Drive curves back to the east. Our home is about 1/20th mile off of Highway 141.  It is the first house in the development.  (If you get to the airport on Highway 141, you’ve gone 1/4 mile too far west.)

If you are coming from the west on Highway 141, for example from Dawson:  Once you are on Highway 141 with the Perry airport driveway on your right (on the south side of Highway  141), continue another 1/4 (.25) miles east.  (Go somewhat slowly on Highway 141 between the Perry airport and our house because Green Drive pops up sooner than you’d think.) Turn right/south onto paved (not gravel) Green Drive. Green Drive curves back to the east.  Our home is about 1/20th mile off of Highway 141.  It is the first house in the development.

515-465-2746

(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)