On Her Own and Seeing with New Eyes
Although always of one mind with regard to appreciating and respecting each other’s work, my parents divorced in the early 70’s. Dagmar kept her married name, but always signed her artwork as “dagmar vodicka.” Mom relocated to Gainesville, Florida to be closer to my brother Tom and found full-time employment outside the home, for the first time in her life, at a local hospital. Once again, as was the case as a young mother of two, she found herself mostly painting late at night. Still, the demand for her paintings increased thanks to Margaret Hatcher, a Miami based gallery owner, who resorted to pre-selling Mom's work "sight unseen" to a growing number of devoted collectors. Clearly Dagmar’s paintings continued to evolve exponentially in beautiful, amazing ways - in spite of her ersatz apartment “studio” and full time clerical job.
BIRD - title unknown. I have not seen this painting in person either but it must be absolutely stunning.
“BLUE FOOTED BOOBY” acrylic on canvas board
“HAPPY FISH” acrylic on canvas board
“CAT” acrylic on canvas board
“SWAN” acrylic on canvas board 18”H x 24”W
“Red Flowers” acrylic on canvas board.
"Rabbit" oil on canvas board.
“PUFFIN” - acrylic on canvas board 18”H x 14”W This is Mom’s last painting and it is unfinished. Note pencil lines in upper left corner. I hold this one very close to my heart.
During her early years in Gainesville, Dagmar reached new heights in terms of productivity and creativity in her painting. Her training in textile design at the Art Institute seemed to come to the fore in these rich and fantastical paintings. This period came to an abrupt end when my brother, Tom, died in 1992. Although she remained in Florida for a few more years, Dagmar never painted again. When she was diagnosed with Macular Degeneration, we all felt that she needed to relocate to Massachusetts to be closer to us. Mom moved to Waltham in 1995. Although her eyesight continued to deteriorate, she always found ways to share her unique vision with us. Mom “saw” beauty even in shadows on her wall at dusk. During her last few years, not long after being declared “legally blind,” Dagmar developed a passion for making paper collages (à la Mattisse - only smaller!). And she created greeting cards - using plain card stock, markers and found paper of all sorts. Many of these papers were highly patterned and quite reminiscent of her former painting style, much to our utter DELIGHT. Dagmar also used paper bags as surfaces for design and decoration and as gifts for Tom, me and her grandson, Brian, as well as for our extended family. She continued to create collages until her death in 2010.
CARDS on display (aprox 2008-2010) These are only a small sample of the incredible and delightful cards Mom made using her magnifying glass, paper scraps and a black Sharpie.
We organized an exhibition of Mom’s work the following year, featuring paintings and sculptures from her time as an art student in the 40’s through the decades of drawing, painting and printing, ending with an entire room devoted to her cards and decorated gift bags. We were not able to locate all her paintings either in person or in photos. In some cases we only had titles, receipts or various newspaper reviews of her shows for reference. Many others generously shared their “dagmars” with us for the show and we are so very grateful. For additional information, please contact: [email protected]
I hope you enjoyed meeting my Mom half as much as I have enjoyed sharing her unique vision with you!
"You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul."
- George Bernard Shaw