SCHLESIER, Douglas

SCHLESIER, Douglas. (Queens, NY on July 13, 1942--Dubuque, IA, Dec. 16, 2016) Doug grew up in Setauket, Long Island very close to his three brothers and his two sisters.

He earned an Associate Degree in Advertising Art and Design at the State University New York Agricultural and Technical Institute at Farmingdale, New York. Immediately after graduation, he married his high school sweetheart, Dona May (Wheeler) and together for fifty-four glorious years, raised their daughter, traveled the world, always teaching. The two newlyweds joined the Peace Corps where they trained in Puerto Rico and worked two years in the slums of Lima, Peru where their only child, Kimberly Dawn was born.

Upon returning to the United States, Doug returned to college for five more years receiving a Bachelors of Fine Arts in sculpture at State University of New York in Buffalo in 1966 and a Masters of Fine Arts in sculpture at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington in 1968.

Doug received an appointment at CLARKE COLLEGE as an Assistant Professor teaching sculpture and other studio art courses. He remained there for forty-two years, winning many awards, and served on multiple service and art committees. A professor of art and Director of the Clarke College Quigley Gallery, his teaching duties were in the areas of sculpture, drawing, ceramics, airbrush painting, and new genre. Doug retired in 2011 as a Professor Emeritus at Clarke University.

In addition to teaching and mentoring thousands of art students at Clarke, he was active in both Divine Word College, Clarke College, and in the Dubuque community theater both as an actor and in set design. Doug designed and executed numerous student art study trips to both South America and Mexico. He received numerous grants for art and related travel throughout Europe, Australia, China, Japan, Syria, Kuwait, Egypt, Greece and Turkey.

Over the years Doug exhibited art locally, regionally and internationally (China, Australia) while also working on many commissions. These commissions included a wall relief, drawings, mannequins, airbrush mural paintings and figurative sculptures. Locally, Doug’s work could be seen on the Clarke campus (the statue of Mary Francis Clarke), many murals, at FINLEY HOSPITAL (THE), and Divine Word College.

Doug remained very active in the Dubuque community before and after retirement. He served on the board of directors of the DUBUQUE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, NATIONAL MISSISSIPPI RIVER MUSEUM AND AQUARIUM, National Rivers Hall of Fame and was a member of the exhibition committee of the DUBUQUE MUSEUM OF ART.

In recent years, Doug had co-authored with his wife Basic Drawing Text and Sketchbook published by Oxford Press.

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Source:

Gloss, Megan "'A Man for All Seasons,' " Telegraph Herald, December 22, 2016, p. 8A