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Washington Evening Journal
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Mark Shafer memorial event planned for Fairfield arts center
FAIRFIELD – The Fairfield Art Association is planning to honor one of its founding members, Mark Shafer, with a memorial event and fundraiser this coming fall.
The Mark Shafer Memorial Event will be held on Friday, Nov. 10 at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center at 6 p.m. Proceeds from the event will go to two funds, one for a fine arts scholarship for a Fairfield High School senior pursuing a degree in the arts, and another fund for an outdoor art installation in Shafer’s honor that would be installed outside the arts center.
Shafer taught art at the elementary, middle and high schools in Fairfield, and was the director of the Carnegie Historical Museum at the time of his death in December 2022. He graduated from FHS in 1967, and was one of the founding members of the Fairfield Art Association while still in high school. After his death, the FAA renamed its annual membership exhibit after Shafer.
For this memorial event in November, four of Shafer’s works of art will go up for auction. Each one tells a story about Shafer’s interests, especially his deep love of history. One of them was done in 1998 and depicts the north side of the Fairfield square from roughly the turn of the century. Another painting depicts a pulley from a Louden hay carrier. It might look like any other pulley to the average person, but this pulley and hay carrier was important in American history because it eliminated the task of pitching hay from the ground into a hayloft, and was later, in 1917, transformed into the nation’s first industrial monorail system used to move scrap metal in munitions production plants during World War I.
The third piece of Shafer’s art up for auction depicts the giant light tower that once stood in downtown Fairfield from 1882-1910. Filmmaker Dick DeAngelis commissioned Shafer to do this painting for his film “Ahead of Their Time,” and liked it so much that he put it on the poster advertising the film.
The fourth piece of art depicts a gazebo. Susan Shafer said this piece of art is very much unlike her husband’s other works, which tend to be detailed and ornate, with little nuggets of information included in every square inch. This particular painting is linear and minimalistic, she said.
Other artists have agreed to donate works toward the fundraiser. Friends and family members are donating other items, too. John Morrissey is donating a “night of whiskey” at his law office. Susan’s sister, Jaxine Andersen, is donating a quilt. Mark and Susan’s nephew, Anderson Hardy, is a chef in Iowa City who has agreed to donate a dinner.
For more information about the memorial event or to make an online donation, visit www.hole-hearted.com, or contact Alissa Ward at Iowa State Bank at Anderson Hardy 641-472-3161.
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
