Beauty — her passion and her lifelong talent
Artists see. People look.
“I think I came out of the womb loving artistic things,” Wanda Roe said.
“The first word I learned to spell was “Rosamond,” she said, explaining that the word was the name of the heating stove in the living room. It was on a silver plaque with beautiful curly engraving. “That’s one of my favorite memories — how beautiful that was.”
Roe, born Wanda Finley in Batesville, Ark., in November 1920, grew up in Norfork and graduated high school there in 1937, a member of the third graduating class.
She continued her education going to a state teachers school in Springfield, Mo., then to University of Central Arkansas and earned her masters from Arkansas State University. She changed her major frequently, she said, explaining that she started in art and drama and ended up earning a degree in home economics. She earned her teaching certification in six fields.
Wanda met Roy Roe when she went to Viola to teach. He, too, was a teacher. They married in 1940 and were married 51 and a half years before his death. They had two children, a son, Roy Linn, and a daughter, Ramona. They had one grandchild, Crystal Lynn, and one great-grandson.
Roy Roe was school superintendent in Pea Ridge (1972-1983) and Wanda was a teacher and counselor. She said every time he needed a teacher, she would earn her certification in that subject. She quipped that she would have divorced him if he had ever asked her to be certified in math. She also taught in the North Arkansas Community College in Harrison, she said.
Wanda Roe, artist
“I was a counselor. I worked on that,” she said. “I started out with home economics and art. Then, we got a chance to get a young home ec teacher and I had my counselor’s masters and license so I became the counselor and art teacher. It was one of my favorite jobs.”
Wanda’s passion for art combined with her passion for education led her to teach art in high school and college, in workshops and seminars. She has trained in Arkansas, Texas and Illinois universities. She and Roy travel extensively in the United States and many of the sights provided inspiration for her art.
Her inspirations for art, poetry and music have come from her travels across the countries and visits to great museums in Europe. After she was widowed, she had an opportunity to travel to Europe. Her style is usually impressionist and her choice of subject and medium is varied with vivid color as her signature.
She said inspiration is all around her. “Artists see. People look,” she said, explaining that seeing beauty is the foundation to creating art.
She enjoys experimenting with different medium. Her home is full of her art.
“I tell my students, when you are good enough and you’re young, and you can do anything and have done everything that other people have done, you think what can I do what can I do that no one else has done? That explains Picasso,” Roe said, explaining that his early works were beautiful portraits and that difficult life experiences drove him into the “blue period” and later the “rose period.”
A charter member of the National Women in Art, Roe is a member of the National Women’s Hall of Fame, and has served as a White House volunteer, and on the Gifted and Talented Arkansas State Board and the Arkansas Humanities Council. She belongs to several art groups and has served as an officer for many community groups. She is currently teaching in her private studio and is available for programs and classes.
“We may stumble we may fall, we may lose our head, but we always get up and finish the race,” Roe said, referencing her favorite art — a headless statue composed of words. “It’s never won a prize, but it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”
Many of her art pieces have won prizes and numerous blue, red and yellow ribbons hang on the wall alongside the gallery of paintings and drawings.
“I teach whatever they want,” she said, adding that she prefers to stay away from oils because they take so long. She turned her husband’s workshop into an art studio and teaches classes one day a week.
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Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-part series.