Title
Barbara Lavallee
Preview
Award Date
2006
Major
Art
Award Description
Born, raised and educated in the Midwest, Barbara graduated from IWU in 1964 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and an ambition to see the world. A job in Germany working in a US Army Service Club led to marriage, and ultimately teaching in Bureau of Indian Affairs Boarding schools in Arizona and Alaska. In Alaska, Barbara found her voice as an artist, learning about Native village life through the eyes of her students. "I was fascinated by the culture of subsistence, the Native lifestyle, and the art forms they used to express themselves. My students didn't see unpainted houses and treeless landscapes, they saw home and family. I credit them with giving me the idealized view of Alaska Native life and I couldn't wait to paint happy people wearing their distinctive native dress." In 1975, Barbara quit teaching to paint full time. Barbara's work has become a prominent part of the Alaska art scene. She has been Artist in residence on 3 cruises, 2 of them quilting cruises, the Grand Marshall of the Fairbanks Golden Days Parade in 1986, a 2005 Anchorage YWCA "Woman of Achievement", and elected to the Plymouth (WI) High School Hall of Fame in 2011. She serves on the Council for IWU Women. She has illustrated 16 Children's books including the 1991 Golden Kite Award for excellence in illustration for "Mama, Do You Love Me.” Barbara is mother of two and grandmother of four.