My mother's cousin Marjorie had a passion to paint. She is quoted as saying, "I think I've tried everything I've ever heard or read about."
Marjorie (spelled "Marjory" in her birth record) was the first-born child of Martin Ben Sillerud and Annette "Nettie" Anderson. Martin had moved to Saskatchewan to homestead in 1911. Annette's brother, my grandfather Ingwald Anderson, had homesteaded in the same area. Although I don't know exactly how Martin and Nettie met, no doubt it was while she was visiting her brother in the area sometime around 1917 or 1918. They were soon married and Marjorie came along in 1919, followed by son James a few years later.
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| Nettie with Jim and Marjorie as children c.1925 |
At age 6 Marjorie started working with pastels she had received as a gift, with horse's heads and movie stars being her favourite early subjects.
According to a tribute posted on her Findagrave site by sister-in-law Margaret Sillerud:
Growing up on a pioneer Saskatchewan farm, Marjorie developed a deep appreciation of nature and had an unusual gift of seeing depth of beauty and color in the world about her: Saskatchewan's "living skies" with their clouds, colorful sunsets and sunrises; the nearby Great Sand Hills with their own distinctive landscape; and the plant and animal life of rural Saskatchewan. Her unique way of sensing nature's beauty was later to lead to her lifetime involvement in drawing and painting, transposing the beauty of nature to canvas.
She enjoyed helping out with farm chores and learned to sew at a young age. During the "Dirty 30's" she was paid to do sewing for other young girls. Sewing was to remain a lifelong passion. Again, according to her sister-in-law Margaret:
Every family member has memories of her hand made gifts: such as hand-sewn shirts, vests, little dresses or toys. One very special project was for her granddaughter Teresa - a beautiful purple graduation gown. Marjorie sewed nearly every outer garments that she wore, including jackets and coats, always in colors and fabrics that met her keen artistic judgement. She was even known to remodel fur coats. As a hobby, while watching television, she made bodies of dolls, stuffed them, painted on faces, added under clothing, shoes and traditional dress. Her Native Indian, Eskimo, Gypsy, Ukrainian, Scandinavian, Japanese and Hutterite dolls ... were immaculate and artfully made and much in demand.
Marjorie eloped with Gordon McCoy in 1938 and had a family of a son and twin daughters. My mother (who was Marjorie's first cousin) recalled how Marjorie hated to have her creative endeavours interrupted by housework and that instead of doing the laundry she would be more likely to sew something new (with no pattern) for her children to wear.
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| Marjorie's twin daughters |
Over the years, Marjorie lived and worked in Washington state, White Rock/Vancouver, B.C. and in Swift Current, Saskatchewan under the names Sillerud, McCoy, Posthumus and Burruss.
In the early 1960's she was part of a small group that started what has become an ongoing legacy of a street art sale in Anacortes, Washington. She sold her first oil painting there; it was of Mount Saint Helens (before the 1980 explosion). In Washington, she studied at the Skagit Valley College and in Bellingham under the guidance of Ernest Watson and Richard Major.
She preferred oils, but also tried acrylics and pastels, eventually switching to watercolours when she became allergic to the solvent in oils. She did many works on commission. Although she did portraits, she said she preferred not to as it was difficult to achieve a result that everyone in a family thought to be a good likeness. Nevertheless, she accepted a commission from an Inuit woman from Baker Lake in the early 1990s; a photograph of the woman standing in front of her caribou skin tent holding a traditional outfit provided the basis for that painting. She did numerous pastels of First Nations people such as the one below she did based on a photograph she took at the Calgary Stampede.
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| Pastel by Marjorie Sillerud |
After moving to Vancouver, B.C., she learned the slow tedious techniques used by the Old Masters. It took her 6 weeks to complete her copy of a work by Murillo. She joked that the result was the only way she was going to have an Old Master in her home.
Her works have sold around the world and won many awards, frequently including "People's Choice" awards at art shows. At the Anadessa Art Show she won the top three ratings for her works titled "Debutante", "Rosebud Creek" and " Oriental Poppy".
In 1980 she moved back to Saskatchewan to be near her family. She joined the South West Artists Guild and was also associated with artists in the Stewart Valley area. She taught many art classes to share her knowledge. In 2001, the South West Artists Guild featured her work in a one-woman show, celebrating her lifetime contribution to the arts community in Swift Current.
Marjorie died at the age of 82 in 2001.
Once again quoting her sister-in-law Margaret Sillerud who knew her well:
As a person, Marjorie was usually a quiet, unassuming, cheerful person with periods of outgoing exuberance. She loved music, which could bring out another hidden beauty of her personality.
She will live on in the hearts and minds of those who knew her and loved her. Her works will be treasured family heirlooms, and her art, her legacy to the world.
Some References:
- Sillerud, Margaret (sister-in-law), "Marjorie Anna Sillerud A Family Tribute" in Findagrave.com memorial #79912686
- Wasiak, Kathy, "A Passion to Paint! This lady has tried everything", The Southwest Booster, Swift Current, Saskatchewan 20 January 1992, pages 5,8
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