Scotland Festival: Cady's artwork lives on

By Nick Schneider SOUVENIRS: A patriotic art creation entitled "Freedom" by local artist Lenore Cady has come alive on T-shirts and mugs that will be offered as souvenirs at the 44th Annual Scotland Festival on Saturday. Festival committee member Jami Corbin (above), of Bloomfield, wears one of the T-shirts. [Order this photo]

SCOTLAND -- The artwork of a Greene County native from the tiny hamlet of Scotland lives on.

Lenore Cady's artwork speaks to her and over the year's she developed a dramatic and unique technique to bring those messages to everyone who views her creations.

She combines watercolors with poetry and calligraphy. She painstakingly applies her poetry in calligraphy to original art work -- a technique few artists in the world do.

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"It's just extraordinary. It's just a lifetime of talent and very hard work to develop all of these disciplines in order to do this. You don't see it anyplace else, mainly because people are not sure enough of their calligraphy to do it on an original piece of art work. One mistake and it's all over. That's it. She was so good at art, at poetry and calligraphy. She developed this throughout many decades," says her son, Bill Cady, who lives in Scotland.

In recent years, the 87-year-old woman has been stricken by Alzheimer's Disease and is no longer able to produce her artwork.

A patriotic art creation by Cady after three years of labor in 1991 has come alive on T-shirts and mugs that will be offered as souvenirs at the 44th Annual Scotland Festival on Saturday.

The abstract art piece "Freedom" has been transferred to T-shirts created by Scott's Custom Signs of Linton and coffee mugs from QT's Custom Active Wear in Bloomfield. The commemorative items are being sold by the Scotland Historical Society, according to member Jami Corbin.

The T-shirts (kids sizes through 2x) are $15 each and the mugs are selling for $10.

The festival features crafts, live music and plenty of fun.

"This (art piece) is from mom's last show. She's an artist that has sold out everything that she's had ... there are no warehouses of Mom's art anywhere," Bill explained to the Greene County Daily World in a telephone interview.

The show was at the Humbolt Cultural Arts Center in California in 1992.

Prior to that show, she conducted a one-night show at the Brick Star Studio in Scotland at the urging of interested townsfolk, who wanted to know what the artist had been working on in her studio for the last three years.

She had worked on the show that was intended for the art center in California late at night in her studio. When she finished she had created 72 paintings at the age of 70.

People in town persuaded her to conduct the one-day show before the paintings were trucked to California.

"They told her 'We have been wondering what you have been doing over there in the studio for three years. You have to have a show'. So she did," Bill said. "She actually sold 11 paintings at that show. That's an interesting story too. She had promised that she was going to show these paintings in California so she had to take them with her to the show. Not only that, she really didn't believe going to a show and not putting things up for sale."

Speaking of the commemorative art piece, Bill Cady said this painting is a red, white and blue work.

"Across the blue in white lettering it says 'Freedom'. Across the red in black (letters) it says, 'The most expensive treasure on earth'. It's a very powerful message," he said.

Lenore Cady gave this painting to her sister, Nina Mulay of San Diego, Calif.

Over the years, Nina has allowed the painting to stay in the Brick Star Studio in Scotland.

"You can just see the expertise of a lifetime going into these. Basically she would do the wash and meditate on this abstract wash with great big brushes that I found for her in Japan and Korea. Then it would literally speak to her. Then she would write the poetry. Then very carefully calligraphy the poetry onto the original so the rest of us could see what this abstract was saying. It took abstract art one step further. Most abstract art you see it and you are supposed to figure out what it was. Mom wasn't satisfied with that. She wanted to actually tell the viewer what this saying and then she did," Bill said in explaining the style that his mother's paintings exhibit.

Bill said this is one of the last art pieces that his mother was able to do.

"That was when she was truly in her finest days of artwork of being able to produce this extraordinary artwork. I'm so proud that we still have some. There is nothing for sale. The only reason we have them is I managed to get some and Mom kept a hold of and refused to sell some and then relatives have some."

Lenore Cady grew up in the Scotland community. She joined the U.S. Navy's WAVES and served in World War II. She met her late husband, Lt. James Cady while stationed in California. The couple lived in Northern California for about 40 years before retiring back to Greene County in 1982.

After relocating back to her hometown, Cady taught art courses for several years at nearby Indiana University and continued to perfect her unique art style.

Because of her illness, Lenore is no longer able to paint.

"She's not doing any more work. She is still very happy. I am taking care of her right here in her home. She has always enjoyed Scotland so much and enjoys her home here. I really do believe this is helping her to have a quality of life. She actually knows where she is."

Bill said he knows his mother is very happy to share this art piece with the Greene County community.

"I know that she's just so proud to have her artwork living on in her most favorite town in the world -- Scotland."

Bill Cady also said the Brick Star Studio will not be open at this year's festival.

He allowed the Scotland United Methodist Church to use the building to store some pews during a remodeling project which is not completed yet.

Consequently, the studio can not be open as it normally is during the September festival.

Lenore Cady's 1977 book "Houses and Letters: A Heritage in Architecture and Calligraphy" published by Kennebec River Press is available by contacting Bill at 863-7163.