05/29/2020
Hello,
The following is a tribute to my Grandmother. This was posted on my personal page, however I wanted to share here as well. My Grandmother was a major inspiration as to why I became a painter and her history may be interesting to those of you that follow my artwork. I hope you enjoy.
🌹My Grandmother Juanita🌹
It is with a sad heart that I must announce that she passed away yesterday morning. She was at home with my Mom and I during her last moments, just the way she wanted. She was beautiful and had the most peaceful look to be joining her family and friends in Heaven.
She was the matriarch of our family and boy let me tell you, I have such a legacy to live up to.
We had a very strong bond since I was born, with so many wonderful memories and time together. One of our most favorite activities was art. She taught me most of what I know and is the very reason why I became an artist. In the prime of her art career, she became a famous doll maker in Alaska.
She learned ceramics from a neighbor who had a studio in her home, back in the 1960's. From there she took it upon herself to learn how to paint, pour, use a kiln, and became very involved in the ceramic community. One day, she found a ceramic doll at a local shop and decided she wanted to learn how to make them. She purchased it to take it apart to figure out how it was made. At first it was a hobby, but she became incredibly good and found her own style.
After making several French style dolls and exhibiting at doll shows, she really found her stride that ultimately made her famous. My Grandmother wanted to represent Alaska in the doll maker community. After several attempts to find the right molds, creating her own mix for the clay, and studying people for the faces and hair, she started creating these absolutely beautiful and incredibly intricate Alaskan Native dolls. She became friends with a woman who partnered with her to make the outfits, all out of real fur and authentic apparel. She was one of her very good friends and learned more about the culture and history.
She never intended to sell them at first, she just had a passion to make and share her dolls at local (even national) shows and contests. She was part of the Fur Rondy Ceramic Association for several years, volunteering her time and knowledge of ceramics and dolls. She was quite the contender if she submitted her work, winning the highest awards. She really loved talking with people and demonstrating her technique, quite the charmer and classy woman.
In the 1980's, she attended a doll show in California and exhibited her Alaskan dolls. While there, a gentleman approached her and inquired that he wanted to purchase them. He was a doll collector and asked several times what she wanted. He said they were the best he ever seen (and they were quite unique) and he wanted them all. She told them they were not for sale, but he insisted that he get her contact information and wanted to visit her studio in Alaska. He did indeed (I believe later that year) made a trip to Anchorage and offered again, saying he would purchase as many as she would sell and for whatever amount she wanted. He then mentioned that he would even give her gold for them!
So my Grandmother, not sure if she wanted to sell, called her Husband, John. Saying that this guy really wanted her dolls. My Grandpa starts asking for how much and then she tells him and mentions he will trade gold. His immediate response was "TRADE IT!" Haha its still a family story we love and laugh to this day.
Then from there, she started making and selling. Growing more confident and gaining attention around the world. She sold at several shops and to tourists from the cruise ships. Opened a co-op art gallery downtown, sharing the space with other artists and taught me how to run a cash register 😅 She even has a doll at the Governor's Manson in Juneau and the White House when she met President Bush! My Grandfather was in Alaskan politics and they were quite the pair and a force to be reckoned with.
Married 62 years, after meeting in California at a roller skating rink. Not only was she a beautiful woman, she was quite the roller skater and dancer. My Grandpa really had to work to get her attention and charm her. They got married later that year and traveled up the Alcan Highway with my two Uncles, little boys at the time, to follow my Grandfathers dream to make a homestead in Alaska. It took them over a month to make the journey and several tires for their vehicle and trailer. Hunting rabbits along the way... absolutely astonishing when you really think about it. She was a blonde California girl from Long Beach and had no idea how far Alaska was. She even packed her goldfish for the trip by filling up the sink 🤣, which didn't last very long when my Grandpa took the first reststop and pulled the plug. Not to mention that she hates the cold! But... she was in love and always ready for an adventure by his side.
They purchased a plot of land after my Grandpa and his Brother earned enough money, as milkmen. Working various jobs and eventually getting into construction and excavating, opening a business. My Grandma always supported and help build their legacy by being a fantastic Wife and Mother, while helping the business.. She always was classy with a bit of country twang in her. Learned to build houses, do the calls and bookkeeping, working the radio, and took matters into her own hands when needed. Even digging a well when she got tired of not having running water (literally she took a full day to dig a hole and had to yell for help when she dug too deep and couldn't get out! Tired and mad she didn't hit water, My Grandpa teased her and got her out. Took one shovel full and water trickled out!).
My Grandpa became a Legislature and later a Senator in Alaska. She was the perfect Senator's Wife, attending every meeting and gaining quite the reputation with everyone at the Capitol. They even made her own reserved seat that was heated for all the sessions. Everyone adored her and wanted to dance at the events they attended. She was known to hold her own in Russia during a special meeting for the senators, when she danced with everyone and took swigs of vodka in between... straight from the bottle! 🤪 I think she got very rosy-cheeked during that trip.
Not only was she just an incredible human being, she so very much loved her family and would do anything for them. She taught me the value of family and relationships and to be a kind person. I will always be grateful for the time we had together and our closeness. Watching "All My Children" and painting on the couch during my visits as a little girl, eating her bologna sandwiches and lays chips. Trips to the greenhouse to plant flowers, which she did beautifully. Hearing all the stories over the years and laughs... and not to mention all the fishing we did in Whittier. This woman would be up at 3am to pull in a halibut!
I am so honored that I am her Granddaughter.
She is incredible, beautiful, classy, sassy, sharp as a whip,, funny, kind, and a professional "bird-flipper". If you cussed around her, be prepared to pay anywhere from $.25-$1, depending on the degree of the words. If it was a bad day, just pay $20 up front and go for it!
These past three years I was able to be with her full-time, something I will always cherish and never regret. I had the opportunity to help her in her later years, as she did for me since I was born. Three generations together, to help her enter the next phase of her journey. Living a beautiful life full of smiles, laughter, and shenanigans. I miss her terribly and will think of her everytime I paint, see a pink rose, fishing in the wee hours of the morning, and when the sun rises above the mountains. I know that when I have children, that her legacy will carry on through them and me.
I love you Grandma. 🌹
