The Kentucky Museum of Arts and
Crafts and Kentucky Craft Marketing Program is pleased to present Lysbeth M.
Wallace as the ninth recipient of the 2004 Rude Osolnik Award. The award honors its namesake, Rude
Osolnik, the nationally acclaimed wood turner from Berea, Kentucky, who devoted his
life to the development of his craft and teaching. It recognizes artists for their
contributions to the craft community, preservation of craft traditions through
teaching and sharing, and exemplary workmanship. Previous recipients are Alma
Lesch, Emily Wolfson, Arturo Alonzo Sandoval, Homer Ledford, Joseph Molinaro,
Stephen Rolfe Powell, Byron Temple (posthumously), and Tim
Glotzbach.
Born in
1919 in Hopkinsville,
Kentucky, Lysbeth Wallaces family
moved often because of her fathers work as a civil engineer. Her grandmother
painted, her mother sewed clothes and quilts, and her father crafted fishing
rods. I had a very lucky childhood, very involved in art and trips to museums,
wherever we lived, Wallace said.
Wallace graduated from University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Arts degree in
1943. She then attended the Kansas City Art Institute, receiving an M.A. in
Design in 1945. Upon graduation, Wallace taught at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas
for four years, then entered Cranbrook Academy of Art in order to focus on her
studies in weaving and ceramics.
After receiving her MFA in 1951,
Wallace was then chosen to be a
hand-weaving expert for the United Nations Technical Assistance Program in the
Philippines. In her two years there, she helped improve
the use of local looms and equipment, and helped develop new designs,
standardized widths for cloth, and color-fast dyes.
Upon her return to the United
States, Wallace worked as a freelance textile
designer for a year and a half before returning to teaching. Educating others
has been an integral part of Wallaces life, and her broad reach has touched
many including Kentucky Craft Marketing Program Director, Fran Redmon. As her
former student, I learned that Ms. Wallace had a deep commitment to her craft
and her students successes, and she instilled in us the same ethic, said
Redmon. Ms. Wallace taught at Kansas City Art Institute, Washburn Municipal University, Southern Illinois State, and
Illinois State before joining the Art faculty at Western Kentucky University faculty in 1965. She retired in
1985 with the title of Professor Emeritus.
Since
1948, her weavings have been exhibited widely in national, regional and local
juried shows and 49 invitational exhibits, plus numerous public and private
collections. She has acquired 13 prestigious titles, awards, and honorable
mentions. Although no
longer able to weave, Wallace continues to share her talents with her hometown
of Hopkinsville.
Drawing from her knowledge and pride of her hometowns history, Wallace
researched and designed 17 murals (currently displayed on the corner of Ninth
and Main streets), depicting various personalities, institutions, and other
aspects of Hopkinsville from 1800 to 1950. She recorded
the process in a book, Founders Square Murals: Hopkinsville Memories from
1800-1950: The Story of the Making of the Murals.
Wallace will be
honored at a dinner on Thursday, August 5,
2004, 6:00 pm in the Kentucky Museum of Art
and Crafts Bill & Lindy Street Gallery, in conjunction with CRAFTWORKS....Inspiring
Creativity!" a hands-on workshop
weekend.
