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They are teachers, homemakers, world travelers, college professors, business owners, nurses, engineers, railroad workers, realtors and administrators. One was a concert violinist, another was a professional wrestler. One entertained celebrities at her small town tea house.
They are the residents of Presbyterian Manors whose richly diverse lives have intersected through the Art is Ageless calendar. Since 1981, more than 350 residents of the Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America, Inc. have crafted nearly 600 works of art for the annual calendar, a showcase and testament to the vision that self-expression knows no age limitations.
The Rev. Thomas C. Wentz, former president of Presbyterian Manors, wrote in the first calendar that it served as a visible “reaffirmation of the agelessness of human creativity; living proof that, when it comes to human worth, it is the mind and spirit – and not age – that count.”
For 25 years, talented residents and staff of the Manors have proven him right. Newton, Kans. resident Marie O’Rourke, whose work appeared in the 1982 calendar, perhaps said it best when she wrote art is ageless because “anyone can start at any age and continue it the rest of their lives.”
Through the years the calendar has elicited the best from residents, whose skills reach across a myriad of media, from watercolor painting to weaving, to sculpting to quilting, and beyond to zipper art and silversmithing. Needlework is a perennially popular category, from quilts to cross stitch.
The Professionals
Manor artists include professionals who dedicated their lives to their craft. One of the most prolific was Hazle Hoskins Sheldon of Topeka, Kans., whose paintings appeared in nine calendars from 1982 until her death in 1993. Known in the art world as “H. Hoskins,” she created more than 900 works that were displayed in galleries in the Midwest and Southwest. Several of Parsons, Kans. resident Carol Riley’s 33 paintings of abandoned mines in Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri were displayed at the Smithsonian in 1969 and 1974. Her husband constructed their frames from lumber found around the mines. These paintings hang in the Galena, Kans. Historical Museum, Carol’s hometown.
Lawrence, Kans. Resident Muriel Leivsay’s art career began when she bought fabric to make doll clothes with her 5 cent weekly allowance as a young girl. She went on to earn a master’s degree in fine arts and at one time designed theater costumes for Stanford University. Her crewel interpretation of the “Tree of Life” was chosen for the 1985 calendar cover because it is a “magnificent symbol of the Manor philosophy that art truly is ageless and grows and blossoms throughout life.” Manor artists made the Tree of Life their most popular subject – it has appeared in five calendars.
Exploring Art after Retirement
The calendars also have included work from those who found their artistic voices after retirement from other careers. The road that led Clif Barron of the Wichita, Kans. location to the cover of the 1984 calendar began when he bought a set of old wood chisels at a sidewalk sale when he was in his 60s. His award-winning black walnut cover sculpture, “The Buffalo Hunter,” weighed 150 pounds and took more than 400 hours to create.
Rex K. Davis of the Emporia, Kans. location took up photography after retiring from a career as a civil engineer. His “Nature’s Splendor” 35 mm slide that appeared in the 1986 calendar represented many firsts: the first winner from the Emporia Manor in the first year that location was open from one of its first residents who was entering an art competition for the first time. Davis’ photos appeared in four calendars, including two covers. He and his wife, Ruby Davis, were one of many husband-wife teams of artists to appear in the calendar. Ruby was a china painter and her work also appeared in four calendars.
Another photographer, Dudley Thompson of the Rolla, Mo. Manor, was a former vice chancellor and professor emeritus at the University of Missouri-Rolla. His interest stemmed from his Boy Scout days in the 1920s. Photography complimented his skills as a gardener, leading to winning entries in both areas in the 1992 calendar.
Pearl Murphy of the Kansas City location attended a Manor art class at age 89 “just to observe,” but the teacher persuaded her to pick up a brush. Her oil painting, “Quiet Rocks,” created at age 90, appeared in the 1987 calendar.
Determination is common among calendar artists. Helen Mahan of the Manor of the Plains, Dodge City, Kans., searched for a class nearby and ended up driving a 120-mile round trip weekly for four years to learn china painting. Her tenacity was rewarded with a spot in the 1996 calendar. Bessie Bunte of the Farmington, Mo. Manor had a diverse career as a newspaper reporter, a private duty nurse and a housemother at the Missouri School for the Blind. Two of her pieces – needlework and basket weaving – graced the pages of the 1999 calendar, a truly amazing accomplishment for someone with an arm paralyzed by polio at the age of 2. She learned her one-handed weaving technique after a stroke at age 88.
For Hazel Brownlee of the Sterling, Kans. Manor, art completed life. “I always wanted to paint in oils someday. I found myself in my 60s with an unfulfilled dream and realized it was ‘now or never.’ ” Her paintings appeared in four calendars. Her 1985 winner was completed at the age of 94.
Many artists’ work appeared in numerous calendars. Ilene Shanks of the Manor in Arkansas City, Kans. is known for her china painting. Her original works on plates, pitchers, and entire sets have graced several calendar pages over the years, most recently the 2005 calendar. Louise McCoy of Wichita, a former preschool teacher, studied art after retirement and her sculptures and drawings appeared in Art is Ageless calendars a dozen times from 1993 to 2005. She recalled creating her first drawing at age 4 on a paper sack with a pencil and attributed her artistic longevity to “something inside me that won’t let me quit.”
Art Even with Physical Challenges
Others turned to art after being diagnosed with a serious illness. Donna Ingold of the Fort Scott, Kans. location never thought about painting until she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. She has gone on to create more than 100 paintings since 1999 at the request of family and friends, including her oil “The Wave” that appeared in the 2002 calendar. She also started a support group for others facing the disease. Norma Dethlefsen of Aberdeen Village has macular degeneration but continued to do handwork at age 93 – such as her “Tatted Doily” chosen for the 2003 calendar – by feel rather than sight.
Memorializing Artists
Some artists’ lives will forever be remembered through their calendar art. Over the years, as our resident artists have pursued their desired mediums, it is a testament to their spirit that they were creating works right up to their passing. Fulton, Mo. Manor resident Anna Smith’s “Spider Web” quilt was honored in the 1986 calendar. She had been told of its selection and already was planning her next entry before her death in 1985. She was the first Fulton resident to have a work appear in a calendar. Nettie Berger of the Salina, Kans. Manor had given her watercolor painting, “He Loves Me,” to her Manor neighbors, Nettie & Clyde Boyd, before her death in 1981. The Boyds entered the painting in her honor and it appeared in the 1982 calendar. Nora Sanneman of Clay Center was “delighted” to learn that her tatting, “Tat Your Easter Bonnet,” had won a spot in the 1987 calendar before her death in 1986. She had been an active participant in Manor craft classes at age 88.
The Art is Ageless calendar is a living testament to the vision of the Presbyterian Foundation and Manor founder the Rev. George Nelson, when the first location opened in Newton in 1949. The 1988 calendar recalled that Rev. Nelson was “intent on establishing a retirement community where older individuals could continue to grow and discover life.”
In recognizing and honoring the many talented residents of Presbyterian Manors, the Art is Ageless calendar sustains that vision and the Manor philosophy of supporting residents in the “way you want to live.”
“There are not words to share the breadth and scope of 25 years of this annual competition,” said William Ward, president/CEO of Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America. “We are grateful to our residents, community members and the staff at our Manors who make this not only an annual event, but also have brought the arts into our communities for the tangible physical and mental benefits pursuit of the arts brings to us as part of the human community. They have all shown us that art is truly ageless.”
Those that have judged the annual contest affirm that each calendar is indeed a collection of outstanding art. Maureen Fitzharris Walter of Wichita’s Gallery XII, a professional artist specializing in acrylic, oil, pastels and watercolor, said, “I was bowled over by some of the pieces I’ve seen.” Stephen Gleissner, chief curator at The Wichita Art Museum and 2004 calendar judge, said the submissions include “things by older artists who had clearly been professionally trained and others clearly having fun.”
For many years, works from the Manors were submitted via slide with all finalists sent to the home office for judging. In order to showcase the works within the communities, beginning with the 2003 competition, works competed at the local level in a juried exhibit. First place winners were then submitted via slide for the systemwide judging, paralleling the process of many national art competitions. Winning entries appearing in the calendar and cards are chosen from those slides.
New for the 25th Anniversary, the judged exhibits were opened to the greater communities our locations serve to encourage participation by all artists age 65 and older, making the 2006 calendar the first one to include works from artists who are not Manor or Village residents.
To all who have participated over the years, we salute you, and to anyone who has ever had a desire to pursue a craft, hobby, fine art or wondered whether they should, we encourage you to take that step to explore the arts and your own, perhaps, hidden talents.
Then plan to join us as we embark on the next 25 years as the exhibits are opened to all artists 65 and older throughout our service area. We can hardly wait to see the results.
ART IS AGELESSTM Timeline
1980 – First calendar competition was held, inviting residents and staff to enter.
1981 – First calendar issued as a fund raising vehicle for the Good Samaritan Fund. Calendars were sold for $10. There were 14 Presbyterian Manors in Kansas and Missouri.
1987 – Note cards were added, with a package of 12 sent to donors of $500 or more. By this time, calendar featured works were all selected from resident entries.
1990 – Christmas cards were added to the competition. The number of Manors had grown to 15 with the newest addition in Dodge City, Ks.
1993 – A birthday card was added to the Art is Ageless lineup.
1995 – A sympathy card was added to the printed items showcasing resident art. There were 16 Manor locations with the addition of Presbyterian Village in Fort Scott, Ks.
2001 – The cover art was by a resident of the newest Presbyterian Manor, Aberdeen Village in Olathe, Ks. bringing the total number of Presbyterian Manors to 17 in Kansas and Missouri.
2002 – Preliminary judging was moved into the 17 local communities via judged exhibits. The winning entries were submitted by slide for judging and selection to be featured in the calendar and on cards.
2006 – Competition was opened up to artists 65 and older in our greater communities for the first time to celebrate the 25th anniversary. An anniversary card was added.
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