Celebrating Carole
In September 2022 Carole Schumacher, long time member of the Reed-Turner Botanical Artists, passed away. Though we know her most as an artist, she was also a world traveller, a skilled cook, a lover of music, and an avid reader. In this space, we would like to honor her work and make sure that her memory carries along as our group continues to meet and grow.
Carole was born in Miami, grew up in New York and made her home in Evanston. Her first career was as a graphic designer and illustrator. She later moved into social work and eventually took over her husband’s camera rental business. After selling the business, Carole found her way back to art through Derek Norman’s classes at the garden. Her brother, John, wrote a beautiful eulogy for her. Below is an excerpt that describes her relationship with art:
But first and foremost, Carole was an artist. Art wasn’t something Carole did, it was who she was. It was her way of experiencing and interacting with the world. To truly know Carole, you had to know her as an artist. Carole attempted to learn piano as a young girl, but floundered. She told me she realized she didn’t have the hands for playing piano. She had the hands of an artist. Her hands were made for holding brushes and pencils. That says a lot about who she was, but it’s also an example of how Carole was great at gaining profound insights from everyday events. I never forgot her story about her hands and the implications that we are made to be successful at certain things, but not others. Recognizing what those things are—and discovering WHO you are—is a part of how one becomes happy and successful. Carole helped me understand that better, just as she helped me understand myself.
The demands associated with work and tending to the needs of others kept Carole from pursuing her art more fully for many years, but when she retired she was able to dive in head first and her artist soul awakened once again. I saw it breath new life into her and move her closer to her true self again. Like her books, she kept several projects going at once, jumping back and forth as inspiration moved her. And she could find inspiration anywhere! Everything visual spoke to her. I suggested once that she and do something artistic together. Perhaps she could give me a quick lesson and we could create something, like paint or draw. I didn’t expect to be good (I wasn’t) but I wanted to understand the artist in her. I learned so much about the artist’s eyes, hands, and how they interact with the world from that experience. Going to an art museum was Carole was similarly enlightening. When we went to see an exhibit Edward Hopper’s work, my favorite artist, I was fascinated by how she analyzed and understood his work. She could break down the composition, tell me what the artist saw, and how he used light and space. She caused me to look at art in a new way and appreciate it on a deeper level. Finding the Reed-Turner Botanical Art group was such a blessing for Carole because it combined two things she loved, art and nature. I heard many stories about the discipline of botanical art and the anatomy of plants and flowers as a result of her membership in that group.
The art pictured in this post gives examples of her botanical art, as well as fashion illustration and portfolio work from the 1970s.
