DOCENT FEATURE
SHERRI KRAZL, MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Retired High School Art teacher (Glenbard South High School, Glen Ellyn, Illinois) and second-generation Miami alumna (Class of ‘62), Marjorie Bowers is a woman of many talents and much enthusiasm. She can also tell a great story. Having settled in Oxford many years after her time here as a student, she was excited to be able to be close to a daughter and her parents. After raising two daughters, she and her husband Charlie now have seven grandchildren, one of whom is entering Miami this fall to become a fourth generation Miamian. In talking with Marjorie it becomes obvious just how much she loves and is proud of her family.
In addition to her passion for family, Marjorie has many interests including painting and writing. Since she retired in 1997, she has painted scores of watercolors, written three books, sung in the Hamilton Fairfield Symphony Chorus and served as a volunteer for the McGuffey Museum and as a docent at the Art Museum.
Most recently Marjorie has been involved in projects memorializing Oxford, Ohio’s First Lady, Caroline Scott Harrison (1832-1892). It all began when she was asked to give a presentation at the Oxford Community Art Center (OCAC) and grew from there. She received a grant to publish a book on the life of the First Lady, and soon became a member of the Caroline Scott Harrison Memorial Committee, which has resulted in a Ohio Historical Marker and a state grant to produce a life size sculpture of Caroline Scott as a young woman to be installed on the grounds of the OCAC.
Her favorite piece in the Art Museum’s collection has a story, too, as it was painted by her favorite Miami professor, Marston Hodgin, then chair of the Department of Art. One of their drawing classes was held outdoors in the old apple orchard near Fisher Hall. She and her classmates drew apple blossoms. Professor Hodgin created the landscape painting depicted above. Throughout her life Marjorie has continued to paint wonderful watercolors, making note cards of her favorite paintings.
At an Art Museum docent luncheon celebrating events of the past year and the end of Marjorie’s term as president, Curator of Education Cynthia Collins likened her to a Queen Bee. “A beehive is a metaphor for the classroom where art is taught or the museum where you learn about art,” Collins said. “Marjorie is the Queen Bee because she is a studio artist, she’s taught art to children and adults for many years and she has taught others how to appreciate and understand art in the museum collection.”
Survivor of a recent stroke, Marjorie serves as an inspiration to all of the people she knows as she remains involved in many of the activities she loves.
