Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
BURKART, Helen
BURKART, Helen. (Tomah, WI, Mar. 14, 1918--Dubuque, IA, Nov. 11, 2009) The daughter of Herman and Augusta (Reetz) Neuendorf, Helen attended Tomah, Wisconsin elementary schools and DUBUQUE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL. Known as the "Rose Lady of Dubuque," she was a practitioner of painting on porcelain in a two-story building along Rhomberg Avenue. (1)
Her designs were spontaneous and original. She did not trace but sketched with a pointed sable haired brush right on the surface. Her favorite technique left her blossoms incomplete of some detail. "Let the viewer's eye complete the composition," said Helen. (2)
Helen discovered her talent relatively late in life. In 1976 while on a trip to Davenport, Iowa with her sister who was taking a china painting, Helen, then fifty-seven, became curious and ended up enrolling in the class. (3) With several others, she drove to Davenport once a week for instruction from an instructor who demanded no tracing.
She began teaching two years later. (4) Helen's skill soon resulted in students coming to her in Dubuque where a three-hour lesson cost $6.00 plus supplies. She also taught at special seminars and exhibits held at china painting shows annually. (5) Her glass painting led to her becoming a popular teacher of how to paint lamps. (6)
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Source:
1. Olsen, Gary. "The Rose Lady of Dubuque," Online: http://www.garyolsen.com/RoseLadyWeb/index.htm
2. Ibid.
3. "China Painter Teachers Others," Telegraph Herald, January 1, 1992, p. 3A. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=aEyKTaVlRPYC&dat=19920101&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
4. Glindinning, Mary, "A Magic Brush," Telegraph Herald, July 21 1994, p. 9
5. Ibid.
6. Glindinning