Last Page: Kathleen Houser, 75
Artist, educator, nature- and animal-lover Victor former art teacher shares career and creative highlights
By Melody Burri
Q: You’ve played many roles in your career. What were some of your favorites?
A: During my 27 years career as a Victor Central School art teacher, I established the ‘Gifted in the Arts’ program. As a primary school principal for 13 years in three school districts, I supported staff by giving the warriors the tools they needed to fight the battles. As an artist, I started my own businesses, including hosting tea parties, as well as creating objects for home and garden from recycled materials. I also established and managed the Art Gallery in the foyer of the Cobblestone Arts Center in Farmington and organized a fashion show of wearable art as a fundraiser for the Ontario County Arts Council. And for the past 15 years, I’ve enjoyed hosting monthly themed tea parties for the Day-Hab students at Cobblestone Arts Center.
Q: Your volunteer roles have been ambitious as well. What inspired you to jump on board?
A: A challenge from a former Victor Historical Society president inspired me to run the Peddlers Market at Historic Valentown Museum in Victor. And my passion for gardening and working with friends and local residents to enhance the beauty of our community led me to become part of the Victor Garden Club, Valentown Garden Club and the Seventh District Federated Garden Clubs NYS.
Q: Creativity has also played a major role in your life — talk about the various mediums and disciplines you’ve tackled.
A: I’ve always enjoyed making something out of nothing. I take great satisfaction in taking found objects and repurposing them into other objects. This has resulted in my creating mosaic mirrors from broken china as well as using discarded china, glass and metal plates and platters. Lately, I’ve been creating jackets and coats from upcycled tablecloths from the 1940s and 1950s. I’ve also recently explored felt making, shibori dyeing and hat making. In the past, I did a lot of work in clay and loved the whole process of digging clay, processing it, forming objects and firing.
Q: What other hobbies and passions are you enjoying these days? What gives your life balance?
A: Gardening has been a passion since I retired 20 years ago. At that time, I created 13 monochromatic color gardens on our property. I really enjoyed hosting workshops here where participants made a teacup planter for their own garden, as well as touring mine. Decorating is also a passion, and every month I change out the decor in the house with a different theme, switching out colors, sets of china, flatware and linens. Most are beautiful things inherited from family and I love to use them rather than having them sit in a box. I have a group of friends that I entertain monthly and love to spoil them this way. Decorating therapy is what keeps me sane!
Q: What’s one personal core value that has helped shape the person you are today?
A: Don’t take no for an answer — just go for it. Persistently stand up for what you believe, and learn from your mistakes. One of the things I loved about being a principal (being a right-brained thinker in a left-brained world) was that I never knew what I would face going in the door, but every day I’d have to find a creative solution in order to solve the problem.
Q: What are you enjoying most about being retired?
A: I love sleeping in! I am not a morning person.
Q: What’s your next “adventure?”
A: I’m expanding my business and line of upcycled wearable art to include silks and laces. I joined the Ontario County Arts Council and Rochester Area Fiber Arts groups and have had a number of my fiber pieces on display in exhibits in the area. I will be organizing a display at the Wood Library in June through July of work by the RAFA group and plan to teach workshops on creating jackets and coats from upcycled fabrics.