Rumriver Art Center is excited to introduce Mary Horgan, an artist whose creativity is infused into every aspect of her life’s journey. Recently, she was honored to design and implement a public memorial commemorating the invaluable role of ‘Female Soldiers.’ This tribute holds personal significance, reflecting Mary’s own life journey.
Mary Horgan’s desire to create began in childhood, spending hours immersed in art. Despite being drawn to the art world early on, she hit ‘pause’ on pursuing an artist career. “I would have pursued art but I didn’t know how to make a career of it. Then life kept me busy with other things.” Mary reflected.
Among the highlights of her life journey are her experiences as a female soldier, mother, and artist. I’ll turn it over to Mary as a guest blogger to share her story directly.
Mary Horgan: One of the best things about retiring from the military was rediscovering my love for art. I’ve always had a passion for creating and appreciating art. In college, I focused on studio arts and art history, but I dropped out after three and a half years to focus on my new family, thinking I would complete my degree later. Ironically, “later” turned out to be when I joined the military. I was initially told I was training for an Illustrator position, but after joining, I found out they had eliminated that role. Go figure. From then on, life became a whirlwind, and other than some amazing ceramics classes at the University of Minnesota, my focus was on family and work.
For a while, I had the fortune of working at my friend’s art studio, Kimber Fiebiger – Art by Kimber in Minneapolis, MN. It was truly amazing to assist with her bronze sculptures, from wax work and mold making to grinding, cleaning up metal, and painting. However, my MN National Guard activations forced me to give up that position multiple times. When I came back from Iraq, she offered me an office job (rather than the previous studio job). Unfortunately my mind was too scrambled to handle administrative details, something I would have excelled at previously.
After retiring, I found a program called Veterans in the Arts, which was instrumental in bringing me back to something I loved—creating art. The program introduced or reintroduced me to various artistic activities, such as printing, pastels, drawing, glass blowing, and my true love, ceramics. It also offered drumming at McPhail and mindfulness and yoga classes at the Veterans Center. Unfortunately, the program stopped after a couple years, but I was determined to stay connected to the arts somehow.
During the pandemic, I discovered Rumriver Art Center’s online art classes, which were perfect for me, especially since I ended up in the hospital with COVID-19 in October 2020. RRAC was a godsend, and I have been enjoying multiple classes since. I was fortunate to finally receive training in the arts I love and am proud to have participated in several exhibits at RRAC.
One of my proudest achievements is designing the MN Women Veteran Memorial. At that point, Larry Weinberg, former Director of Rumriver Art Center, invited me to create a public art piece for Minnesota and the City of Ramsey.
The focus was to bring attention to an underrepresented group: women veterans. The idea of celebrating women veterans is important, so that we shall remember ALL of our veterans. Very often overlooked, I wondered where the women veteran memorials were. While I had only seen a couple depicting women nurses, which is an honorable duty, women represent many more occupational specialties and continue to do so, deserving our own memorial. This venture was long and interesting.
Together with Larry Weinberg, Mark Riverblood of Ramsey County and his team, and the invaluable team at Mid-State Metal Works in Blaine, we successfully created the MN Women Veterans Memorial. The encouragement from Kimber Fiebiger and Angie Renee was priceless.
Of course, I must mention that the City of Ramsey and the State of Minnesota provided a grant for this venture. Equally important in supporting this venture is that Steve Geertsen, owner of Mid-State Metal Works, provided the metal work “at cost.” He is a true supporter of veterans. Additionally, his engineer Glen Carlson volunteered many hours and Jerry Pearson coordinated the process with enthusiasm and grace.
Rumriver Art Center extends our heartfelt thanks to Mary Horgan and all veterans for their service and dedication. Your contributions are deeply appreciated.
Stay tuned for some exciting programming on the horizon. We are collaborating with Haven for Heros and The American Legion to develop therapeutic art opportunities specifically for veterans. We look forward to sharing more details soon and supporting our veteran community through the healing power of art.
Join us for Anoka Legion Acrylic Paint Nights
Ages: adults 18 and older
Date Options: see below
Time: 6pm – 8pm
Cost: $40
Location: Anoka American Legion Post #103 (400 West Main Street, Anoka, MN 55303)
Teachers: Mak and Angie
This is a guided acrylic paint class where you will be led step by step to create your own unique masterpiece. One beverage of your choice is included in your registration fee to enjoy while painting.
Wednesday, August 28th: Mountain Sunset
Follow along during this guided acrylic painting where you will experiment with brush strokes techniques to create a vibrant sunset reflecting off of a stream through the distant mountains. Have fun playing with colors and textures to a paint a peaceful scene.
So proud of all your endeavors Mary. Keep up the good work. Love Marlys and Patrick aka Mom and Dad