Souder family showcased in November exhibit

FORT MADISON - November’s exhibition at Fort Madison Area Arts Association at 825 Avenue G, generously sponsored by Bartlett Instruments, explores the legacy of a mother’s influence on her family in Art in the Family: Our Creative Roots.
The Opening Reception for the Souder family’s creativity-filled group art exhibition is Friday, November 6, 2026 from 5-7pm. Artist work featured in this group exhibit: Harriet Souder, Karen (Souder) Recktenwald, Sharon (Souder) Bartlett, Kristine Souder, Stefanie (Recktenwald) Underwood, and Brianna Bartlett. Everyone is welcome to attend, explore the exhibit, and enjoy the spread of nibbles and beverages. Lunch ala Art, a gallery talk further exploring the artwork and the stories behind it, is November 20th at noon.Reservations are required for the catered lunch ($12), but it is free to attend the talk. Please contact the FMAAA Art Center at 319-372-3996 or go online to the Events tab of fortmadisonart.com to reserve your spot prior to noon on Wednesday, November 18.

Through classrooms and studios, charcoal and pastel, clay and canvas, mountain trails and painted rooms, photographs and stories, the gift of art traveled from one generation to the next. Family matriarch Harriet Souder, taught her daughters how to see, trust their own eyes and draw what they truly saw. Her influence reached far beyond her own studio and classroom. Four daughters became educators and three became art teachers. Through them, her lessons traveled into new classrooms, homes, and generations of artists, teachers, makers and dreamers. She lit a flame that spread and refused to be doused.

Identical twin daughters, Karen (Recktenwald) and Sharon (Bartlett) picked up and carried the torch. Both became art teachers and created in a variety of mediums. However, Sharon fell in love with ceramics early on. After years focusing on sculptural work, she became interested in exploring the vibrant colors of pastels as well as other mediums like fiber. Sharon is long-time member of the FMAAA, often exhibiting during FMAAA December Member Shows.  

Stained glass became one of the most meaningful turns in Karen’s artistic journey. It became a lifelong passion, opening the door to years of classes, workshops, fused glass, experimentation, and discovery. Both continued to take classes and explore new mediums. Both earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Both taught art at different schools. They passed the art flame on to their daughters as well as their students.

Karen’s daughter, Stefanie (Underwood) acquired a love of art from her mother and a love for wild outdoor places and simple adventures from her father. Those impulses meet in her watercolor paintings. Creativity became a way to gather nature, memory, gratitude, and wonder into color. “My mother’s creativity taught me how to see beauty. My father’s love of nature taught me where to find it,” she explained.

Sharon’s daughter, Briana (Bartlett), like her mother, was also captivated by ceramics. Additionally, she discovered a love for three-dimensional metalwork through jewelry, where strength, precision, and ornament meet. Her practice moves fluidly between drawing, painting, ceramics, and three-dimensional work. Creativity for her has grown into an everyday language spoken through clay, color paper, metal, fabric and memory.

Kristine (Souder), Harriet’s youngest daughter, is also no stranger to exhibiting at FMAAA having had a solo show in 2024. In Kristine’s hands, clay is folded, stretched, pressed, carved, morphed and coaxed into forms that seem to emerge from the earth by instinct. For Kristine, clay is more than a medium. It is a conversation between artist and earth. She loves its feel, its earthiness, its responsiveness and the textures it can hold. She feels creativity found its voice in earth, texture, and the quiet intelligence of the hands.

This exhibition promises to be a vivid expression of how one person’s passion and legacy lives on in the generations that follow. This is a “don’t miss” opportunity to see how creativity is lived in a myriad of individual ways through a family of artists. The FMAAA thanks Bartlett Instruments for sponsoring this exhibition and their ongoing support of the FMAAA Art Center pottery studio.

This exhibition will be on display through November 30. The FMAAA is offering extended hours after November 5th on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays with the Art Center remaining open until 8pm on those evenings. Hours: Tuesday and Wednesday 10am-5pm  Thursday, Friday, Saturday 10am-8pm.