Geronimo has recently been working on a mural in his home town of Aumsville, Oregon. He was recently featured on the front page of The Stayton Mail newspaper. The mural has been a time consumming, yet rewarding project for Geronimo. As we slowly watch the beautiful mural emerge from the tips of our brushes and see Geronimo's vision become a reality, it gives me and our children a sense of pride and excitment to see his art is being viewed in such a large scale. While this is certainly not Geronimo's first mural (he has done about 15 others in the past), this is the first one that I was able to work with him on and his first major art project with his daughters. I felt that the article about him would be a nice edition to this web site. I hope you enjoy it. Marcie Clark, wife to the artist.
BY TERESA WILLIAMS
The Stayton Mail
July 9
AUMSVILLE – People have been stopping their cars in front of Smith’s Trading Post to honk, wave and cheer on Geronimo Clark for the past few days.
He is finishing up a mural today on the side of the building with help from his wife Marcie and daughters Katrina, 15, and Tianna, 14.
Owner Dennis Smith told Clark he wanted a frontier scene, and Clark made a sketch featuring an eagle, a buffalo, a wolf, a river, covered wagons, an American flag, an American Indian, teepees and even a Navajo Hogan to represent Clark’s own background. Smith loved it, and he asked Clark to add a British flag for his wife, Ann, who is from England. Clark then started making stencils, which took about a week. His wife, who is a systems administrator, played with the color on her computer when the couple decided the large area at the bottom of the mural shouldn’t be black. They ended up with red.
Tianna also has an eye for color, and when the shade of brown on a covered wagon wasn’t quite right, she mixed some paint and fixed the wagon herself.
The whole family gets involved with Clark’s art. His daughters sell his work at shows, and Katrina is particularly gifted at setting things up attractively.
His wife manages the business. including marketing, sales and advertising. She said she is always busy, but the partnership works well.
“It’s neat,” she said. “We get to go a lot of places and do things I wouldn’t get to do otherwise.”
It was Marcie’s encouragement that led Clark to pursue art as a career.
“He didn’t think he was good enough to be professional,” she said. “I convinced him that he needed to be.”
Clark was working at Club Wholesale, and when he got laid off, the couple talked about what he should do. He had been working full-time and trying to do art on the side, but that was taking a toll on family life.
He started working at home, which allowed him to be with his children.
His in-laws supported the change. They bought a computer for their daughter so she could help him with business, and Clark says their home looks like a Geronimo museum.
But his wife is clearly his biggest fan.
“I think he’s the most talented artist I’ve ever seen,” she said. “But I’m partial.”
“She always had faith in me, even when I didn’t in myself,” Clark said.
That faith has paid off. He has sold work all over the world, and it has been displayed at the Indian Art Northwest Art Market, Portland State University, the Oregon State Capitol, the Oregon State Library and the End of the Trail Interpretive Center in Oregon City.
His web site, www.angelfire.com/hi3/geronimoworld, gained national attention with an Art Space World Wide Web Best of the Web Artist Award in 2001. An art broker on the East Coast found the site and is working to market Clark’s designs on everything from needlepoint to coffee mugs. She has invited him to be a featured artist at her art fair.
She is also encouraging Clark to enter a contest for Orange County Choppers, designing a bike like those featured on the Discovery Channel.
Clark will continue to stay close to home, however, showing his work at Stayton’s SummerFest July 26. He will also have displays at Scio’s Covered Bridge Fair and Stayton’s Covered Bridge Festival.
He plans to teach classes at Art Gone Wild Gallery on working with hides, his favorite medium.
His work is currently on display at the gallery and is for sale at Smith’s Trading Post, as well.
The mural at Smith’s Trading Post is the first Clark has done in many years, and he is pleased with the change it will bring to the town he calls home.
Well, there it is. Geronimo is expecting to complete this project within the week of July 12th. Please come back to visit as I will be posting images of the finished project.
