With winter weather setting in, many Cazenovians are turning to a book by the fire for their entertainment — and books by local authors and about local subjects are always good to keep in mind. The recently released “The Art of a Life, Dorothy Riester: A Memoir,” as told to Victoria Kennedy, more than fits the bill as an entertaining read, a beautiful coffee table book and a fascinating local story. It is a chronological collection of memories by renowned sculptor and co-founder of the Stone Quarry Hill Art Park Dorothy Riester, as well as a compilation of photographs of a selection of her sculptures.
So many of us treasure the Stone Quarry Hill Art Park as a local and national gem, but learning the story behind Riester, its co-founder, adds dimension and perspective. Her memoir is told in an affable, often humorous style from the time of her parents’ youth through her own present-day experiences at the Nottingham Retirement Community in Jamesville. Though at times she seems to hint at a deeper story than the lighthearted anecdote she is relating, the reader is always given an honest accounting of her experiences.
From the time of her childhood, Riester was surrounded by people who, like the poet Gertrude Stein, told her: “Just do it!” And do it she certainly did. Riester pioneered the field of metal sculpture art at a time when the art world was fixated on ceramic life modeling. When she decided to introduce metal sculpturing to Carnegie Tec (now Carnegie-Mellon), in her own words: “It was considered a big step, but nobody stopped me.”
Riester often comes back to the theme of the freedom to make her own choices, and it is perhaps the book’s biggest take-away. From her cherished father, her professors and, most of all, her husband Bob Riester, the people who mattered most to Dorothy allowed her to rise or fall on the merit of her own decisions. Freedom of career choice was something of a luxury in a world bent on preserving the status quo and Dorothy used every opportunity to leave her own stamp on the world around her. Bob’s career moved the couple around the north east, and in each location Dorothy built and created, using her homes as bases for new creative experiences.
Riester, with an enviable clarity, relates how her career and reputation were built over the course of many years. Superstardom in the art world, it turns out, takes just as much slow and steady dedication as it does in most other endeavors. But where others might be inclined to gloss over the difficulties or downplay their successes, Dorothy shares her experiences without false modesty or bravado.
The culmination of the memoir is, of course, the creation of the Stone Quarry Hill Art Park and the role it has played in Dorothy and her late husband Bob’s lives. Victoria Kennedy and Riester create an air of inevitability about the sculpture-garden, as though it was always there, hovering on the fringes of the Riesters’ decisions. As they revived a farmstead and created a studio in Jeannette, Penn., or as they renovated their Syracuse townhome for use as a partial gallery space, the reader can see the influence of the Riesters’ earlier experiences on their choices for the Art Park. From their work in preserving the original Hackley homestead foundation to their desire to build the Hilltop House to fit into the surrounding hillside, echoes of the Riesters’ earlier lives can be felt by visitors throughout the Art Park.
Ultimately, The Stone Quarry Hill Art Park has become the Riesters’ legacy, and Dorothy is proud and content with that fact. Through it she has shaped not only the art world, but her local community as well. The values that Cazenovians are most proud of — environmental awareness, strong community involvement and a respect for the arts — are all embodied in Riester’s creation.
Riester’s story is colorful, humorous and relatable, all elements of an engrossing read as well as a tale worth sharing with anyone searching for their own direction in the world. The glossy photos of Riester and her work provide a real connection for the reader to Dorothy’s experiences and influences. The progression of her style is well documented in the photos, bringing a much deeper understanding of Riester’s creations to even novice art connoisseurs. She has lived her life on her own terms for nearly a century, and will surely continue to expand our understanding of sculpture and beauty for many more to come.
“The Art of a Life” can be purchased from the Art Park at sqhap.org or by calling 655-3196. The cost of the book is $25, plus shipping. Signed copies are available for $50. All proceeds from the sale of the book go to support the artists and work of Stone Quarry Hill Art Park.
