March 21 – April 15, 2018
From March 21 – April 15, the Waimea Arts Council is featuring two former members who chose the Firehouse Gallery to show and benefit from the sale of art from their respective estates.
Denise Ulrich was often a docent manning the gallery, who even came in one last time to help out when she was in a very reduced state of health.
Patricia Dahlheimer had fewer ties to the gallery but participated in several WAC sponsored shows and appreciated WAC efforts to expand and encourage art through all North Hawaii communities.
The Firehouse Gallery is pleased to present this celebration to showcase both artistic talents who brought much pleasure to many through their unique efforts. Both are much missed but live on thru artwork now hanging in many homes and collections round the world.
PATRICIA STEVENS DAHLHEIMER (1945 ~ 2010)
Patricia in high school was noted for her art ability and went on to study at the Art Institute of Chicago where she garnered both a BFA and a MFA. She then followed up by studying graphic arts at Portlan University, Oregon.
With this stellar background she became an Assistant Professor at Linfield College in Oregon and as a certified K~12 Art Teacher later taught in public schools in Oregon, Hawaii and back in her home state of South
In previous Hawaii Island shows she was represented by East/ West Arts Gallery, Kailua-Kona and lastly by Arts Pacifica Gallery of Fine Art, Kawaihae. Having shelved her own art production to teach, she returned to it during her extended stay on the Big Island. That newest work was shown in several one-woman shows there.
Returning to South Carolina in 2008 she jumped wholeheartedly into creating new work but health problems brought that great effort to a close in 2010. It was her wish that sales of her remaining artwork benefit art education and animal welfare and therefore a portion of the proceeds from sales of her work at this show will be donated to the Humane Society.
DENISE ‘Rani’ ULRICH (1948 ~ 2014)
Colorful, larger-than-life images of both small and large creatures characterized many of Denise’s paintings after arriving in Hawai`i. By including larger creatures and plants of Hawaii, her work reflected new interests and the ease of painting “plein air”.
From studies at Riveredge Nature Center in Newburg, Wisconsin she learned to more closely observe the world around her, and thru art express wonder at its beauty, intricacy, and complexity. Through her paintings she tried to convey that sense of wonder and excitement in seeing the richness, beauty, and sensuality of nature.
With a degree in theatre arts from Cornell University, she spent 22 yrs. in corporate life before returning to her abiding interest in art. She then attended the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) where she studied oil painting, watercolor and egg tempera with a number of excellent mentoring instructors.
In 2001, after moving to the Big Island of Hawai`i she joined the Kailua Village Artists’ cooperative gallery in Kailua-Kona (2005 ~ 2012). Her art, included in private collections around the world, was seen regularly at WAC’s Firehouse Gallery and at Dovetail Gallery in Holualoa.
