Public reception scheduled for Oct. 13 at Hilltop House
By Jason Emerson
Editor
Local artist, icon and founder of Stone Quarry Hill Art Park Dorothy Reister will turn 100 years old next month and the Art Park has announced it will hold a public reception in herhonor. The event will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, at Hilltop House in the Art Park. There will be food, beverages, music, and sculpture-making. All are invited to attend and wish Reister a happy birthday.
Reister, a nationally known sculptor, will turn 100 on Nov. 29.
“The Art Park’s board of directors and staff are very excited to celebrate this momentous occasion with the public. Dorothy was 75 when she envisioned creating an art park. At the forefront of her vision was the desire to create an inspiring place for artists and visitors. This 100th birthday celebration is an opportunity to express our gratitude and our dedication to the future of this amazing community asset,” said Art Park Executive Director Emily Zaengle. “We hope Dorothy will make an appearance at this celebration, but if she cannot attend, we’ll be asking people to build small sculptures or leave happy birthday messages that we can share with her on her birthday.”
Reister began her career as an artist at age five, when a drawing assignment she did in school was pronounced the best of all the drawings done by her class. She began private painting lessons at age 12, and attended William and Mary College in Williamsburg, Virginia.
After her graduation, she married her longtime friend and schoolmate at Carnegie, Robert Riester. She started her own ceramics company, Riester Slamming, taught at Carnegie, worked as a nurse’s aide and ran the farm she and Bob had purchased.
In the late 1950s, Dorothy and Bob purchased a scenic 23-acre property on Stone Quarry Hill Road in Cazenovia, which eventually became Stone Quarry Hill Art Park. Dorothy and Bob built Hilltop House in 1960, and added a studio for Dorothy in 1962. Known in former times as Picnic Hill, the Riesters’ property had been a summer gathering place for area residents. From their earliest residence at Hilltop House, Dorothy placed her sculptures around the property, and the Riesters created walking trails and hosted summer concerts, art shows and other cultural gatherings.
The Reister property — ultimately 85 acres — was ultimately deeded to the Stone Quarry Hill Art Park in the late 1990s. Since then, the park was included in the top 10 sculpture parks and trails in the 2012 National Geographic publication: “Secret Journeys of a Lifetime – 500 of the World’s Best Hidden Travel Gems” and in 2013 Hilltop House was recommended for inclusion in both the State and National Registers of Historic Places, according to an announcement from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
Reister taught ceramics and design at Cazenovia College from 1965-70, and in 2012 she received the college’s Distinguished Service Award, which is given annually to recognize individuals who have given back and have improved the quality of life for others.
Reister’s experiences, adventures and philosophies on life and art were captured in her 2015 memoir, “The Art of a Life: Dorothy Riester, A Memoir,” as told to Victoria Kennedy. Proceeds from the book’s sale are donated to Stone Quarry Hill Art Park.
For more information on the public reception or Reister’s memoir, visit sqhap.org or call 655-3196.
