“AS LONG AS THERE ARE TREES IN TINY SEEDS … THERE WILL BE MIRACLES ON EARTH.”
Gwen Frostic, from A Walk With Me.
NATURE’S FRIEND, the GWEN FROSTIC Story By Lindsey McDivitt and illustrated by Eileen Ryan Ewen
GWEN FROSTIC was born over a hundred years ago when girls were considered “too fragile” to learn a profession and children with disabilities were kept at home because “certainly they couldn’t be successful at school.”
Gwen Frostic proved both beliefs false. From a childhood illness her hands were weak, her speech slurred, and one foot dragged behind the other. But that didn’t stop Gwen Frostic from following her older brothers and sisters everywhere around the woods and fields. Even when she stumbled and fell, up she got! Off she went for the next adventure.
“I never knew I couldn’t do something.” Gwen Frostic
Children at school made fun of her. Adults often told her “no, you can’t do that.” But that didn’t discourage Gwen Frostic. She dreamed of becoming an excellent artist. She learned drawing, painting, sculpting, and working with medals. She spent hours observing plants and animals in the wild. Eventually she combined her talents, bought a printing press, and created Presscraft Papers Stationery Company. What a success! Her stationery continues to be popular today. Why? Because of the beauty, the focus on accurate details, and how she captures the spirit of nature.
“I do a pencil sketch from life – animals, birds, plants – trace it on the block and excise it for the press. Every vein in every leaf is true to life.” Gwen Frostic
Across the country and the entire world Gwen’s art spread her belief and concern –
“ LOVE THIS EARTH,
LOVE ITS WATERS …
CARE ENOUGH TO KEEP IT CLEAR.”
Eventually after receiving many honors from many groups, such as the Michigan Audubon Society and the National Wildlife Federation, May 23rd was proclaimed Gwen Frostic Day. In 1986 Gwen Frostic was honored as a member of the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame.
Gwen continued her work educating young and old about the importance of preserving our environment. She also continued running her stationery company. Eventually Gwen Frostic donated 13 million dollars to Western Michigan University. Their art school was renamed the Gwen Frostic School of Art and provides scholarships in art, creative writing, and environmental studies.
NATURE’S FRIEND, THE GWEN FROSTIC STORY is a delightful, inspirational account of how one young girl did not let disability stop her from following her dreams and achieving her goal to preserve the beauty of the natural world which she loved.
Published by Sleeping Bear Press.