Profile: Phyllis Eiger

Petaluma watercolor artist will have work on display at this year's "Spirit of Color" exhibit

March 29, 2006

Name: Phyllis Eiger

Age: 85

Occupation: Eiger is a watercolor artist and member of the Petaluma Arts Association and the Petaluma Art Council. She recently served as chairperson for the 11th annual Library Art Show, an exhibit hosted in conjunction with the Friends of the Petaluma Library.

Family: Eiger's son Lenny lives with his wife Vairagya in Petaluma. He is known for his black-and-white photography. Their 9-year-old daughter Lena is an artist and swim team member. Eiger's older son Steven lives in St. Martin in the Caribbean with his wife Frances. They have two children: Isaac, 12, and Elie, 7.

Background: Born in New York City, Eiger has been interested in art since she was a child. Her family moved to Woodmere, Long Island, New York and she went on to attend Parsons School of Design in New York City. She graduated with a degree in design and fashion illustration and worked for Federated Stores, sketching womens wear for weekly bulletins.

She married photographer Conrad Eiger in 1942. During World War II her husband was a riveter on the aircraft Grumman Wildcat F4F, the first stub-wing aircraft carrier plane.

After the war, she helped him with his photography business in New York and attended the Art Students League on Saturdays, where she studied watercolor with the famous Bernard Klonis. She also studied documentary photography with Sid Grossman and Lisette Modell at the Photo League and ultimately worked for Black Star photo agency as a freelance photographer.

The couple eventually moved to New Hyde Park and had their two children.

"While there I took a course in crafts and earned a teaching degree. This culminated into a course for parents and children in many crafts including ceramics, copper, weaving, painting and collage at New York public schools."

In 1959 the Eigers moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico where they spent the next 13 years. "I spent eight years as a volunteer art teacher for the Deborah Home, teaching pre-school through high school. My courses encompassed all the arts and it was an enriching and rewarding time. I continued to paint and exhibited my work in a number of venues. I was awarded first place at the Rockerfeller IBEC competition in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. Later I had a one-person exhibition at the University of Puerto Rico. The show was a great success; 50 percent of the show was sold off the walls.

Why did you move to Petaluma? "I moved to this area from San Rafael to be near my family. I love Petaluma. It's a beautiful place. I like the weather and the surrounding hills and the countryside ranches and wineries. I frequently enjoy painting plein aire (in the open air) with a number of my artist friends."

Tell us about your artwork and upcoming shows: "Currently, my passion is watercolor. I have also done a lot of printmaking, serigraphs, monoprints and etching. Public printmaking facilities would make this easier. I have also worked in oil, acrylic and collage, and probed the third dimension with ceramics and papier mache. I participate in many of the local exhibits. The most recent one was the Library Art Show. I have also been accepted to the 'Spirit of Color' exhibit on display at the Bank of Marin Baywood Drive branch. It opens March 29 and there is a reception April 16."

What do you find enjoyable about it? "The work is the process and the process is the work. The joy is in the development of an idea."

Why do you feel supporting the arts is important? "I feel that creating art is extremely important. Art should be available to all children as a means of expression. We are becoming a nation of viewers rather than doers. The arts build confidence and a sense of worth."

Who has inspired you? "At the University of Hawaii, the printmaking instructor, Ed Stasack, the innovator of the collograph process, really inspired me. He took silk used for silk screens and adhered it to illustration board or masonite. He used this as intaglio (a process where the ink moves through un-blocked areas of the screen). Instead of incising the surfaces (the normal method), he filled the interstices with a blocking method. He created different tones by using three dilutions of Elmer's glue. Various materials were embedded and put through the press to create unique textures. This was a totally new process, a creative 'out of the box' thinking that impressed me greatly. He took a printmaking method and turned it upside down to create something new."

Your advice to others? "If you want to succeed in art you have to keep working at it. Keep studying books, keep trying new things. It's 50 percent talent and 75 percent perspiration. My philosophy is to never give up in life. Make each day count, keep learning, keep going at all costs. If you stop, the energy and the thought will disappear."

Personal philosophy: "Each place has its own beauty. You can find wonderful people all over the world. Leave your impression, make a difference in the time you spend here. You have one chance in your allotted time. Make it count."

If there was one thing in the world you could change, what would it be? "I would try to communicate and find a common ground and make this world a peaceful place."

Craziest thing you've ever done: "I made a few great journeys. I made a trip from Florida in a Volkswagen van across the country to California, trailering a 14-foot Hobie Cat. I sailed it on lakes and rivers across the country including Jackson Lake in Teton National Park, Lake Powell; and meeting Jim Majors, who sailed in San Francisco Bay with my husband under the Golden Gate bridge.

"I took a trip to China in 1980 to 10 cities for six weeks with a Chinese painting group. The teacher planned an itinerary which included meeting great artists at each location. My husband and I climbed Yellow Mountain (Huang Shan). This area has been an inspiration to Chinese artists for centuries. The steps made of stone were very steep. At age 60, it took us five-and-a-half hours to reach the top. A group of Chinese artists took our elbows and helped us along. At the top is a former monastery converted to a guest house built in the Tang Dynasty 600 AD. The view is breath taking."

-- Interviewed by Yovanna Bieberich