In an artists’ world, nothing is really ever complete. Everything can be improved upon or changed. The smallest details can be an artist’s harshest enemy and most difficult challenge.
Such is the case with Santa Maria artist Hattie Stoddard. Sitting in her dining room, sipping Crystal Light, Stoddard reflected on her mural work at the Discovery Museum. She talked about aspects of her craft that she got right easily, and about the things that were challenging, like getting the girth of a water hose right on her most recent firefighter mural or tweaking a piece of painted botany.
“I wasn’t really pleased with the roots on my tree, so I went back and changed it,” she said.
Some may call such changes the acts of a perfectionist, but for artists like Stoddard, it’s part of the process of creation.
“Things never seem like they’re quite done,” she said. “Then someone says this is great, so then you settle.”
Stoddard doesn’t hesitate when asked if she’s always had a penchant for art. She explained that her parents were artistically inclined, and she pointed out several sculptures around her house that were created by her father. Despite knowing that she was an artist at heart, however, she didn’t immediately fulfill her destiny.
“When I was growing up, I always thought I’d be a commercial artist,” she said, “but growing up in the ’60s, it didn’t seem so important for a woman to get a job, so I got married instead.”
A lifelong artist, Stoddard worked in graphic design and as a technical illustrator with pen and ink. She specialized in caricatures with graphite. While living in Lake Arrowhead, a friend of hers had shown her how to make teddy bears, and Stoddard got really involved in creating them. Her bears now sit in a corner in her living room, and some rest on a shelf in a spare bedroom. Each one has its own personality, is fully articulated, and is sewn with various types of mohair.
“True teddy bear collectors use mohair,” Stoddard said.
She owned a gift shop that featured her handmade teddy bears and eventually began designing bears for L.L. Knickerbocker and Annette Funicello’s companies. She would design a particular themed bear, and the company would produce more based on her design and sell them on the QVC shopping channel.
Stoddard called that period a fun time in her life. But eventually she moved on. And that move brought her family to Santa Maria.
When she retired, she took up an active interest in painting and watercolor. She took a botanical illustration watercolor class at Allan Hancock College, taught by Sandra Kay Johnson, which started her love of watercolor painting.
“I never did watercolor when I was younger because I heard if you make a mistake, you can’t correct it,” she said. “Then I took the watercolor class and thought, ‘This is great.’ And I learned you can correct your mistakes.”
She continued to study with Johnson and artist Marti Fast, and she developed a passion for painting children and flowers.
Now, as a grandmother, Stoddard gets plenty of opportunities to feature her grandchildren in her work. One piece features her daughter and grandson walking around a fountain at La Purisima Mission. Another features her young grandson, crouching, a half-eaten banana in his hand, as he stares at the laughing face of a decorative garden rock.
Perhaps because of her role as a grandma, Stoddard enjoys working around children. She has participated in several murals at the Discovery Museum, featuring everything from sea life, to cowboys, to firefighters.
Christine Gerber, director of outreach and development for the Discovery Museum, said that Stoddard started out working on the undersea mural for the museum’s Tide and Seek program, which led to several other murals there.
“She is just a joy to work with and a lot of fun to have around,” Gerber said.
Stoddard returned the compliment.
“I love working at the Discovery Museum,” she said. “The children come up and say, ‘What are you doing?’ I love to hear the things they say.”
Stoddard’s mural work also includes outdoor work. Most recently, she worked on the Lompoc Mural Society’s Mural-In-A-Day project. Her work beautifies outdoor spaces, but she also gets inspiration from the beauty of the outdoors—particularly flowers. She keeps her garden growing rich in pinks, reds, and yellows—her favorite colors—in order to keep her creativity in bloom.
And just to balance things out, Stoddard keeps active in making sure that there’s an outlet where she can display art for herself and other artists in Lake Arrowhead. She helped spearhead an artist co-op gallery. When she moved to Santa Maria, she brought the idea with her and helped organize the Town Center Gallery. In 2005, she was named Volunteer of the Month by the Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department. Stoddard was commissioned to design the Autumn Arts Grapes and Grains posters for 2006 and 2007.
For Stoddard, none of this resembles anything close to work. It’s simply something that needs to be completed.
“I think we all need to have that creative outlet,” she said. “There’s a sense of satisfaction when you get something done.”
INFOBOX: Take a peek
See more of artist Hattie Stoddard’s work at www.centralcoastgallery.com.
Arts Editor Shelly Cone loves getting stuff done. Contact her at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Sep 11-18, 2008.