Jeanne Maguire Thieme - Monadnock Area Artists Association

Q&A with Jeanne Maguire Thieme

How would you describe your background?

Large family ~ oldest of six children~born in Illinois. All 8 of us moved to Ct. when I was 10 when my Dad got a job in Stamford, Ct.. I would draw, draw, draw ~ parents gave me tons of paper and pencils and encouragement. I didn’t have Art lessons and went to schools that did not have any Art. When it looked like I wanted to pursue Art at the end of my Junior year in high school I switched to a public school that had a great Art Dept.~ as a junior and took Senior subjects~ so I could add on a fifth year of high school to take a year of Art to get into some kind of Art School.

Got my BS in Art Ed. at Southern CT State U. in New Haven where I waitressed and was an RA to pay for college. I remember as a senior realizing I wanted to do Art not teach it so spent 2 years after college in New Haven free lancing, waitressing, substitute teaching to pay the bills.

Ultimately I found myself back in Stamford, CT. where I worked up to a weekly newspaper production manager. I met Mike during this time~ got married and moved to NH not knowing anyone except friends in VT. We wanted to raise our family in a rural area, Mike wanted his own Plumbing and Heating business and I wanted to fulfill my dream of having my own horse some day. We bought our “starter home” in Swanzey and we are still there 45 years later having raised 2 daughters there, added a barn, a studio, a pasture, paddocks and a porch. Hence Pipe Dream Studio and Pipe Dream Farm. During this time I taught Art at Keene High School for 14 years and left as Dept. Chair to pursue my Art full time.

When did you know you wanted to be an artist?

Mostly I wanted a horse so I drew them constantly. In 4th grade in class I drew a horse, didn’t like it, threw it in the wastebasket and one of the students took it out and smoothed it out on her desk to take home. I thought ~ Wow ~ she liked my drawing~maybe I could be an artist. By the time I reached 6th grade I had been in 5 schools ~ academics took a beating but my Art always carried me through those hard times. No one could draw like me in my many classrooms.

What would surprise people to learn about you?

I learned how to make my horse dream a reality by working at a farm nearby our Swanzey home~ taking my two daughters there every morning where we would clean stalls, feed, groom and even help train young horses. My daughters (Em and Molly) now married ~ 4 children between them~ one lives next to this farm now~my other daughter is in TX but her family built an apartment on top of Em’s barn where Molly and family reside during the summers and they all help the farmer now whose farm they grew up on ~ he is now 85.

How would you describe your art to someone who has never seen it?

Watery, Light filled but subtle. I’ve been told it has a spiritual quality to it.

What achievements in the area of art are you proudest of?

I loved working with teenagers at Keene High where I taught for 14 years, I had some tough kids who ended up liking “Art”:), I won Best in Show at the Salmagundi Club in NYC. and I got Signature Status in the Vermont Watercolor Society and New England Watercolor Society and Academic Artists Association~it took a while 🙂 Could only apply once a year and you had to get juried into at least 3 professional shows.

How would you describe your art process?

I let water, paint and gravity blend to make beautiful, soft tones and “surprises” that could not be done with a brush. I like to let those areas come through the painting as I work through and around these magical moments in painting. Everything I paint is a study and not precious. This keeps my painting free and loose!

What is your usual studio/working day like?

As my studio is in my house I can work for a short time, stop and come back to pieces many times during the day. I don’t have a set schedule. But I get up at 5:00 and that is the most energetic time of day for me so I will start in the studio then with my coffee.

What is the most delightful part of your life outside of work?

My four grandchildren and their parents~my very large Irish Maguire family~hiking this beautiful part of the country we live in~my garden~hanging with Mike, my husband, and treasuring so many wonderful friends ~ all so delightful:)

Riding and taking care of my horse(s) was a delight for me over the past 35 years but sadly since an accident I had last year they have gone to good homes. Presently, I am spending time painting a 4’ x 16’ mural which is a Tribute to every horse that has lived in my barn. It will hang on my barn offering a glimpse of them to passers by and neighbors who often say how much they miss the presence of my 4 legged friends in our paddock and pastures.

I live and have lived a blessed life.