Ginnie and I support the arts, like the sky supports lightning, or the earth life. We have four main local artists we collect, and many of lesser quantity, not talent. We only have so much space on our cathedral walls. Whenever we go to an art reception, which is often, Ginnie’s wags her finger, “We’re out of wall space.”

“There’s always the garage,” I say.

She does her famous huff.

The four main artists we collect are Wendell Mohr, a famous Southeast Iowa water colorist; Steve Helling, an up-and-coming oil painter from Ft. Madison; Justin Meier, a metal sculptor from Burlington; and Sujan Tamang, a water colorist from Nepal. Our lesser quantity artists are: Cecile Houel (pronounced “Wheel”), Jane Shank, David Garrison, Annie Guldburg (my daughter), Linda Ross, Carlene Dingman Atwater and Ann Klingensmith.

Wendell Mohr: I’ve been collecting Wendell Mohr’s the longest. I met Wendell in his schoolhouse in Vernon, Iowa, (across the river from Bentonsport) years ago, and have been hooked on his water colors ever since. He passed away from pancreatic cancer, but his fame lives on.

Steve Helling is a friend of mine. I commissioned him to do art work for the cover of one of my books. Jump on him now while he’s affordable. His oils can be viewed at the Ft. Madison Area Art Association in Ft. Madison.

Justin Meier: I’m upset with Justin because his metal sculptures outshine mine, by far. He recently won big at the Snake Alley Art Fair. He will also be showing at Vintage Market in Downtown Burlington on July 19th.

Then there’s Sujan Tamang of Nepal. What can I say about Sujan, except his water colors remind me of Wendell Mohr. I have a boat load of Sujan’s paintings. He can be contacted on Facebook. He does commission work. Just tell him or show him what you want. Voila! He even did a family portrait for me. But his painting of Caitlin Clark is stunning. You can almost see her sweat. Think of that: Caitlin’s fame has spread all the way to Nepal, like a tsunami wave empowering women.

I could do a reception for each one of these artists right here at the Empty Nest Farm. Or, I could do all four of them together and have a tapestry of art and artists from Southeast Iowa to reflect the Glory of God.

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Have a good story? Call or text Curt Swarm in Mt. Pleasant at 319-217-0526 or email him at curtswarm@yahoo.com. Curt is available for public speaking.