Hall of Heroes: Dorothy Markert

Maple Avenue Sunset by Dorothy Markert

 When you want to be good at something, you look to the best for guidance. Often that means reading a lot of books and visiting a lot of galleries, because that's usually about as close as you get to the greats.

About the same time I was discovering Gustave Baumann, I saw a sign announcing a screen printing demonstration by Roycroft Master Artisan Dorothy Markert. to be held at the Hamburg Library. The event, as I recall, was a full house (I was later to learn that, as a Hamburg Village resident, she has a tremendous local fan base). Though Dorothy is most notably a screen printer and I am a woodcut printer, I found her work fascinating and inspirational.

Palace Theater by Dorothy Markert

She'll deny it, but Dorothy ia a celebrity among art aficianados. She has retired from doing shows, but she still gets her arm twisted enough to give the occasional demonstration or teach a class (I was fortunate to be her student for several weeks during an otherwise long and dreary winter in early 2005, a very fond memory).

A few years ago, my wife and I acquired the Monarch print seen here, which hangs in a beautiful arts and crafts frame hand-built by her husband, John, a fantastic craftsman in his own right.

Dorothy's warmth and eagerness to share her skill makes her a true treasure, and I will always be grateful for her work, her teaching and her friendship.


Visit Dorothy's page at: http://www.dorothymarkert.com/