BRINGING BEAUTY

ELIZABETH SCHWANKL'S GIFT OF ART

By Jill Kandel

Photography by Tyson Kuznia At Legacy Photography www.legacyfargo.com

Elizabeth Schwankl has been a working artist in the FM community for over twenty-five years. What sets her apart from many artists is the sheer diversity of her abilities. Schwankl creates art using watercolors, oils, acrylics, and mixed media. She does portraits, abstracts, and statue repair. She works on surfaces as different as glass, aluminum, canvas, and plaster. Schwankl thrives on creating commissioned pieces of work. "I love the satisfaction of doing commissions," Schwankl said. "A lot of artists don’t like doing them, but I feel like my whole career has been an educational journey. When I get an order, it's like a teacher giving me an assignment. I love the challenge."

Schwankl works with individuals and business to create the pieces that they envision. Delivering her finished products is a very satisfying experience. "There are often tears and hugs," she said. "Art is a release for people, both for those who create it and for those who enjoy it. People tell me that my art looks different at different times of day and that they never get tired of looking at it. Each piece is unique and is a joy."

Elizabeth Schwankl grew up in Barnesville, Minnesota, where her father, Walter Buth, built and owned a machine shop. "He invented and built machinery. I remember him designing rock pickers, trailers and a crane. He built one of the first snowmobiles that was used for pleasure riding. A buddy of his came out to see it and brought his sister with him. That's how my dad met my mother, Helen, who was a teacher. I was blessed to grow up in a loving home, with humble role models. I think of my parents every day, even all these years later."

Schwankl has two brothers and two sisters. "When I was young my father got lung cancer. He died in 1975. At the time that he was sick, my mother found a lump in her breast and went to see two different doctors about it. They both said it was nothing to worry about. By the time she was diagnosed with breast cancer, she only lived four months. She died in 1977, when I was eighteen years old." That fall Schwankl entered school at MState. In 1979, she graduated in fashion marketing.

After losing both parents within a two year span the Buth children needed to pull together. "My oldest sister, Rosemary, was married. My youngest sister, Patty, was still in high school, so our oldest brother, Bob, moved back home and became her guardian. Our brothers did so much for us. One night shortly after mom died, the boys, Bob and Rich, were watching Channel 4 News. The chaplain at St. John’s hospital was retiring and the TV anchor asked him, 'After all your years of working as a chaplain what sticks out to you? What do you remember most?' The chaplain went on to tell the story of a woman with cancer who had lost her husband a few years earlier also to cancer. When he asked her, 'Aren’t you worried about your five children?' she answered, 'No I’m not worried. I know that God will take care of them.' My brothers knew the chaplain was talking about our mom. That event took place at a time when we needed a shot of faith. After that we knew we’d be okay and that we were being watched over."

Schwankl's youngest sister graduated from high school in 1980 and Schwankl, a twenty-one year old, moved to Fargo. She met her husband, Bill, in Fargo. They were married in 1986.

"My art really started after our two boys, Tyler and Adam, were born. I made a piece for my living room and a friend asked me for one. So I made her one and then took some of my art around to different galleries and they were nice and very encouraging."

Schwankl does not have an art degree, but she doesn't like to say that she is self-taught. "I've taken many workshops and been influenced by many people. As artists we all work together." She thought about getting her degree and went in to talk with Timothy Ray. "He looked at my portfolio and said, 'You don't need drawing. You don't need perspective. I see a lot of talented kids come through and get their degree and then not work at artists.' He encouraged me just to keep on doing the work."

Schwankl started out working from the basement of her twin home. Later, when she moved south of town she graduated to main floor of her new home. "I was always running and delivering, so in 2001 I moved into my first studio space.”

Schwankl's studio, ARTrends Gallery, got its name in 2004 because Schwankl noticed over the years that there were trends in what people were asking for when they commissioned her work. At first she did a lot of house portraits, animal portraits, and portraits of people. Right now her most frequent request is for statue repair.

Schwankl's love of commissioned work has taken her art into many unexpected avenues. When asked to do portraits, something she'd never been interested in, she said yes and began to hone her techniques. Today, her oil photo-realistic portraits of Bishops James Sullivan, John Folda, and Archbishop Samuel Aquila hang in the Bishop's Residence in Fargo.

When Father Peter Anderl asked her to repaint a statue of Mary, Schwankl agreed. Since then more and more people and parishes have turned to her to repair their statues. "I love the work, and I’m good at it. Without having people to do restoration, the statues would have been thrown out and forever lost.”

Schwankl, who doesn't seem to be afraid of challenges, also restored a pair of 1,000 year old Tang Dynasty tomb figurines. "It is fulfilling to take beautiful statues, that are broken and worthless, and make them useable again," Schwankl said. "I like trying new things!"

Schwankl has also has developed two of her own unique art styles. Aluminart which is her original signature technique of painting and embossing on aluminum—and Mirglas—a technique that uses glass paints to design abstract work on mirrors.