By Rachel Riley
The Adirondack Chair Project, to benefit the Gouverneur Library, features Adirondack chairs made by BOCES students and decorated by local artists.
Wood for the chairs was donated by Bernie Knowlton, and assembled by students in the Multi Occupation program at Southwest Tech BOCES. The chairs will be auctioned at Arts in the Park Saturday, Sept. 18, in the Gouverneur Village Park..
The chairs are currently set up for display throughout area business lobbies. The chair on display at Remington Furniture, Main Street, across from the arch, was designed by 90-year-old retired Gouverneur school teacher Dorothy Alton.
She designed the pattern by hand transferring her idea and using a wood burner to permanently etch it into the wood. She then colored everything in with oil pencils.
“I was pleased that they asked me to do it,” said Mrs. Alton. “I enjoyed it. I had to work upside down because the chair was so big but I didn’t mind.”
Doesn’t sound like an easy task for just anyone, let alone a ninety-year-old artist.
“The trouble with me is that I like to do so many things with my hands. I’m a craft person, I like to keep busy.”
It was Dorothy’s crafty touch that sparked a memory in Anne Audet, chair project organizer. She remembered having Mrs. Alton as a teacher when she was a girl and seeing the beautiful designs on antique cheese boxes. She said it stood out because a cheese box wasn’t an ordinary place to see such delicate artwork.
“I knew she would be a great person to include,” said Ms. Audet.
Dorothy says she has always been interested in art and in fact took art classes in college, something that helped her years later to entertain energetic third graders.
“It’s been a hobby since then. I also like knitting and sewing so it just falls in line with that.” She said.
Her inspiration lies close by in the natural beauty of St. Lawrence County “I like to paint outdoor landscapes and country themes the most. When I need inspiration, I go outside and put my thinking cap on. I would like to paint like Wilson Bickford, he’s my favorite painter.”
Dorothy’s fabulous chair can be seen at Remington Furniture or online at the Facebook page for The Gouverneur Reading Room. She is just one of the 10 artists with featured designs on the Adirondack chairs, and yes Wilson Bickford did one too.
Look for the chairs when you’re out and about and stay tuned for more on the artists in upcoming editions of the Tribune-Press.
For more information from project organizers call Anne Audet at 287-0011.