Sometimes an organization has special members that stand out in ways that are not always noticed. This past week, artCentral lost one such member. Wendy Christenson was awarded the status of Honorary Lifetime Member many years before I became the director here, and so her worth to artCentral is traced back far longer than I am able to do. I will attempt to convey the extent of her value in these past four years to this organization, and the value is great. Wendy was always willing to volunteer her time to come and be in the gallery during hours of exhibitions, when I needed to be away. She was so cheerful to say, “Sure, I’ll come!” when we needed her. Her attendance at the openings was regular, and unless she was traveling she was always here, usually early. Her favorite beverage was Ros`e wine, and I always kept her a special one on hand. Lately, others have expressed preference for this variety, and so I am careful to have enough for the other guests as well of “Wendy’s Ros`e.” Wendy’s generosity was incredible. I was shocked to read that artCentral has been designated the recipient of donations to be made in her memory, and thank the family for this most generous gesture. Several times I would hear her at the back door, with a group of prints that she had either “found under a bed or in a closet” that she wanted to donate to artCentral for the sales area. Many of these were signed drawings and prints that we have for sale today. One such time was when she arrived at an opening carrying the two original Lowell Davis drawings that were his original drawings for the mural that he painted in the Jasper County Courthouse. Her idea was to donate them to us, and have us use them to raise funds for the organization, which we did by having folks donate 100.00 each towards having them framed and hung publicly in the new McCune-Brooks Regional Hospital. They can be seen there now, along with a plaque naming the various donors whose contributions allowed the installation. These two are soon to be joined by the third in that series, the painted section, which Wendy gave to us later, saying they needed to stay together, and so they will. She asked that an additional plaque be added to the display noting that the first two were from the collection of daughter Chris and her husband Jim Lobbey, now both deceased. We have done this, and the third painting will be joining the two original ones soon on that wall. What a great art legacy Wendy leaves to Carthage!
She was always a faithful bidder and buyer at the Midwest Gathering of the Artists show in the fall, and her personal art collection is large, her home a gallery to that collection. I take this time to note her passing, to express public condolences to the family, and to thank them for lending to artCentral their dear Wendy for the time that we had with her. She was a most special lady, and a true friend of artCentral’s!
