Two Published Children's Books I Illustrated

It's pretty exciting to now have illustrated and published two children's picture books!!! It has been a dream of mine (and my husband's) for many years. He and I wrote and I illustrated, 'You'll Never Guess What I Saw... At the Lake." This is the retelling of when Jesus calmed the storm by a little yellow fish, Goldie, to her friend, Gabby, a seagull. You can check it out and purchase this book at my artist website, violetdauk.com

Authors and Illustrator, David and Violet Dauk

The other book that I illustrated was written by Mary Lee Moore. He has been wanting to have this book illustrated for many years. I got the privilege to be her illustrator. This story is about a sweet song that she sang to her girls while trying to get them to go to sleep at night. Her girls now sing this song to their children. You can check this book out or purchase it at violetdauk.com

Author, Mary Lee Moore

Chicken Coop

It's not quite finished, but here is a watercolor of our chicken coop.

 

Stingers Baseball Painting

I am honored to be selected to paint a watercolor for the Willmar Stingers Baseball team which will be raffeled off as grand prize at the Stingers game on Monday, July 30th. An image of the painting will be printed on 500 posters and given away at the game.

Here are my drawings and an image of the final painting.

 

Two Person Show at MAFAC in Marshall, MN

The Power of Two

Janet Olney, Basket Weaver & Violet Dauk, Painter

December 2011 - January 2012

 MAFAC in Marshall, MN

Becoming...

We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.

Max de Pree

Double the Imagination

Christmas Tree Collage

12"x12"

My Christmas Tree Collage is a painting I did for the show Janet Olney and I are in at the Marshall Area Fine Art Center, Marshall, Minnesota (MAFAC). Our show is called 'The Power of Two and it runs from December 3, 2011 to January 13, 2012. The following article was printed in the Marshall Independent on Dec. 3rd. You can find the article by clicking on this link: Marshall Independent.

 

Hand-woven baskets, collages and themed paintings

are part of MAFAC’s new exhibit

December 3, 2011

By Cindy Votruba , Marshall Independent

MARSHALL - They may work in different art mediums, but they're good friends and are now doing an exhibit together.

The exhibit "Power of Two," featuring baskets by Janet Olney of Willmar and paintings and collages by Violet Dauk of New London, will be on display from Tuesday through Jan. 13 at the Marshall Area Fine Arts Council's arts center.

Dauk attended the School of Associated Arts in St. Paul, which is now known as Visual College of Art and Design.

"I started out in oils," Dauk said. About 15 years ago, she switched to watercolors, she said, and just a little more than a year ago, she began to dabble in acrylic collages. "I love the color, the flow of it," Dauk said about watercolors.

Olney, who had graduated from Alma College in Michigan with a degree in philosophy and religion, started doing basket weaving back in 1984. At the time, her family was living in Nebraska and had adopted 11-year-old twins. She said her sister-in-law, who is also a basket weaver, said "I'll teach you how to do baskets."

"I immediately took to it, I just loved it," Olney said. She made her first basket on her youngest son's first birthday.

Olney teaches the art for guilds, at the Textile Center at the University of Minnesota and at art centers. She is also coordinator of the Willmar Area Arts Center. "I love the feel of the material as I shape it into something useful and beautiful," Olney said about basket weaving in her artist statement for MAFAC. "I love the sense of accomplishment I feel when I have created something wonderful out of a pile of reeds. The process is almost magical."

Except for a couple of summers with her sister-in-law, Olney said she is self-taught in basket weaving.

When she was a single mother, Olney said she supported her two youngest children working full time doing her basket weaving. "It was a challenge to do that full time," she said.
Olney used to do 20 to 24 art fairs a year from June to October. "I have cut way back," she said.

In her artist statement for MAFAC, Dauk said creating art has always been a healing experience for her. "I pour my heart, soul and dreams into every piece of artwork," Dauk wrote in her artist statement. "As a young artist, it was difficult for me to get beyond the feeling that people were reading my private story in the art I created. I've now grown to enjoy comments that my work is whimsical, unique, colorful and spiritual."

Typically, Dauk works around certain themes with her art - such as coffee, florals, her children or animals. The coffee series will be part of the MAFAC exhibit, she said.

Dauk is also having her Christmas collages in the exhibit. She uses mixed media, which includes found objects, such as beads, pages from a choral book, along with newspaper backgrounds and acrylic paint.

Dauk grew up on a dairy farm and said the drawings she does of animals are not "photo-reality. I draw them as I see their personalities," Dauk said.

Olney said she's experimenting different forms with her weaving. She usually uses reed cut from came palm or rattan. For the basic structure of the basket, Olney uses the reed, but then mixes in other fibers, such as yarn, wools, seagrass, pine needles, wood splints and other materials.

"I have developed a technique for making tapestry baskets which involves weaving a double walled basket with the inner basket becoming the mold for the outer, tapestry basket," Olney said in her artist statement.

Olney said her baskets are mainly "sculptural. I do some functional baskets, but most of them are sculptural tapestries," she said.

Coffee Stories Solo Art Show

It sure is a great feeling of accomplishment to have my solo show finished and hanging at the WEAC Gallery in Willmar. My reception was on Thursday evening December 9th. It was well attended, a lot of fun and very encouraging.

I would like to share a few photos of my reception with you. Unfortunately there isn't a picture of my Aunt Esther. She came and stayed with me for the week and was such a help to me.  Luv you Aunt Esther!

I am also posting a couple of paintings with their stories later in this post. Enjoy.

Paintings and Stories:

Coffee Stories

I believe everyone has a story, and a lot of those stories happen over a cup of coffee - or a series of cups of coffee - shared together. These ‘life' coffee stories happen whether coffee is sipped alone while doing devotions, or taking a morning stroll through your garden, or with a family member, or with a friend, or even with a foe.

A simple cup of coffee has a powerful influence in bringing back memories of sharing time together. Those memories are summoned by the aroma and the taste every time we sip a fresh brewed cup. Each new cup of coffee adds to the warm experiences from our past.

I created this series, because coffee makes us stop what we're doing for a moment. We take time to savor the aroma and the taste. We share time together with others. Time, that all-important factor in building friendships. When I worked at the coffee house I would get a bit nervous when a line would form and people would have to wait for their coffee. I would then remember that it takes time in order to create that perfect blend of espresso, steamed milk and chocolate and that would help relax me.

Coffee takes time whether in the brewing or in the drinking. Coffee gives us the time and excuse to build those important relationships in our lives.

More Coffee Please

Acrylic Collage  24”x24”

Goodwill Dishes???

I can't believe this set of dishes almost went to the Goodwill! And, it would have been my own fault.

My husband is an only child. His parents were 40 when he was born, and by the time we were married and had kids, they were good and ready to downsize and get rid of many of their belongings. So, every time Grandpa would come to see us, he would bring another box of things. I would tell him, ‘Grandpa please, we have way too many things already. Don't bring any more.' He called one day and told us that Grandma's best friend had died and she left a set of dished for David. ‘Great,' I thought, ‘another set! How many sets do we have already? Let's see, there's our wedding set; a set I had when we got married; the set David had when we got married; two sets from my mom; one from David's aunt and two from Grandma.' Granted some of the sets were given as heirlooms for the kids, but to just put another set into storage seemed like one to many! So I told him to just give them to the Goodwill because we have way too many sets of dishes already. We visited for a while longer and this little nagging thought kept coming to the surface, ‘Maybe you should just look at them before he gives them away.' Man am I glad that I listened to that little nagging thought. They are beautiful!

I take them out from time to time when I have friends over for coffee. They always enjoy using the set. I don't think I've ever in my life received so many comments on a set of coffee cups as I have on these. I think they must remind us of our younger years of playing coffee and tea parties.

Goodwill Cups

Watercolor  11”x14”

The Last of a Generation...

Aunt Elda and Uncle Johnny, siblings, my dad's brother and sister, the only two left from their family. She is 89 and he is 87. I just had to snap a couple of pictures of them (to draw later) as they sat visiting at our last family reunion. I couldn't hear what was being said and I'm not sure they could either, but somehow I know it was important. They live far enough away from each other that they realize this may be their last visit. Love has no age limit, they are very important to each other. Yet I have to smile because they still have this little sibling rivalry going on. Elda comes to stay with me every spring and fall for a few days while my cousin goes to Fargo for meetings. This fall she informed me with a shake of her head, ‘Johnny thinks he's the only one who ever did any work on the farm! Where does he think the rest of us were???'

It never goes away does it? That sibling stuff! I have to ask, ‘Why is that?!?!?'

Uncle Johnny & Aunt Elda

Pencil Drawing
Not for Sale

Folgers in Our Cups

I don't drink Folgers any more. In fact, after working at the Agape' Coffee House for a few years, almost hate to admit it, but I've pretty much become a coffee snob - only the best! Even so, there is just something about the aroma and taste of Folgers Instant Coffee that will forever make it reign supreme in my mind. I'm sure it's because of those crazy memories that smell and aroma evoke in us. . .

. . . My dad was a Folgers Instant Coffee drinker. Every morning he would heat up hot water and make a cup. Many times he would make an extra cup for me, and we would sit at the table, or walk around the farm just visiting. I learned a lot about my dad, about farming, about trees and birds and life those mornings. What good memories! Folgers, how good it is!

Coffee in the Fall

Watercolor  11”x14”

My 'Coffee Stories' Solo Art Show

I finished working on my show this past weekend and hung it on Monday. What a great feeling!!! Here are some pictures I took. After my reception I will post paintings for sale. Some of them have already sold - yahoo!

My show is at the WEAC building in Willmar, MN. It runs from November 22nd through December 22nd. the gallery is open Mon-Fri from 9am-4pm. An artist's reception is being held on December 9th from 4pm-6pm.