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Photos by Stacy Van Buskirk/ svanbuskirk@cherokeescout.com Marlee Postell (left) and her mother, Angie Holland, hold paintings done by three generations of women in their family. The landscape Marlee is holding is her great-grandmother’s Dot Pullium, Angie is holding a portrait by her mother, Diane Mintz, and Angie’s landscape lays in front of them. -
Marlee Postell (left) and her mother, Angie Holland, hold paintings done by three generations of women in their family. The landscape Marlee is holding is her great-grandmother’s Dot Pullium, Angie is holding a portrait by her mother, Diane Mintz, while Angie’s landscape lays in front of them.
When someone says, “It’s in my blood,” they normally mean that something is a part of their essential nature. However for one local family, art really does span generations.
Marlee Mintz, a ninth-grader at Andrews High School, placed second in the N.C. Congressional Art Contest on May 25.
Mintz, a student in Deidre Davis’ art class, submitted work for a class assignment to the contest. The class needed to choose a landscape in their local area, and Mintz chose to paint a house in watercolors.
The Congressional Art Contest is held each spring to recognize and encourage student’s artistic talents across the nation in each congressional district, according to house.gov. Since the competition began in 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have participated.
A reception was held in Hendersonville with U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) present to award winners.
The first-place winner’s art will be placed at the capital building in Washington, Mintz’ artwork will be displayed in Cawthorn’s office in Washington and the third-place winner’s work placed in Cawthorn’s local office.
The other winners were both from Weaverville. Each submitted photography, whereas Mintz submitted watercolor.
Mintz said while she loves doing art as a hobby, her goal is to become a missionary and share the gospel.
“I don’t want to be pressured into pursuing art, I want to continue it as a hobby. But I really want to be in the ministry or a missionary because I love to share the gospel,” Mintz said. “I can still express my love for God through art, too.”
Mintz’ great-grandmother, Dorothy “Dot” Pullium, also expresses her love for God in her hobby of art. Pullium’s art of John the Baptist being baptized by Jesus hung in the baptistry of the old Andrews First Baptist Church until the new building was built and the artwork returned to the family.
Pullium also painted the mural in Dr. James Volmer’s office in Andrews. She was a self-taught artist and started painting when she was only 12 years old.
“A lot of people in the area has her paintings,” said Pullium’s granddaughter, Angie Holland. “People are all the time telling us about the paintings, she would give them as gifts for their weddings or other events.”
Pullium was known for her sculptures and eggshell decorating, which she would turn into Christmas ornaments and trinket boxes.
Holland said the family still has many of the eggshell ornaments that hold small recessed scenes with snow scenes and painted angels. Pullium painted portraits of her mother, Diane Mintz, when she was a little girl as well as when she was around age 14.
“They look just like her,” Holland said. “My mom has a lot of her mother’s paintings still.”
Pullium’s paintings often had a 3D effect, as she would use cloth or egg shells to create dimension under the paint.
“I always wished I had known her just to see how she created things,” Holland said. “I think it would have been wonderful for her to teach us how she did it.”
Holland and Mintz took a painting class several years ago, and each generation has beautiful landscape and portrait paintings.