Published on November 25th, 2009

Svarnys are a community powerhouse

By TERRY ABARRO

Editor's note: Unalaska Hero of the Week is a regular column in the Fisherman. To nominate someone, e-mail Terry Abarro at planetdutchterry@yahoo.com.

I saw Gert Hope-Svarny shopping at J.C. Penney in Anchorage last year, a couple of days after I finished reading in The Dutch Harbor Fisherman that she had received the prestigious 2008 Governor's Awards for the Arts and Humanities (Native Arts). This annual series of awards honors the contributions of individuals and groups that enrich the civic, intellectual and cultural life of all Alaskans through the wisdom and techniques of the humanities. I couldn't resist telling her how proud I was of her outstanding achievement; and so, much to Gert's surprise, I walked right up to her and congratulated her.

Our second face-to-face encounter happened last March, inside a PenAir airplane. We were flying into Dutch Harbor from Anchorage and were privileged to have witnessed the eruption of Mount Redoubt, about 30 seconds after we passed the volcano in the air!

But meeting her again last week was one of those "chances of a lifetime."

After all, how often does one get to sit down with an internationally acclaimed artist whose works are included in collections owned by Anchorage Museum of History and Art, the City of Unalaska, the Aleutian Housing Authority, the Rasmuson Foundation, Unalaska City Schools, the Museum of the Aleutians, Ounalashka Corp., British Petroleum and many others?

But wait! Besides Gert, her daughters, Sharon Svarny-Livingston and Wendy Svarny-Hawthone, and her granddaughters, Alena Syverson and Laresa Syverson, were also in the conference room at Ounalashka Corp., joining us for the interview.

Yes, Unalaska. Our hero this week is a family of artists - the Svarnys.

Gert Hope-Svarny

"I was painting back in the '70s in the basement of our house and my husband, Sam, told me 'Why don't you come out and paint in the open?' " Gert said. "I bought paint for my daughters, Barbara (Carlson) and Sharon, but they chose to play outside instead. So I took the paint and painted an iris flower. It was my very first painting. Then I started attending art fairs and worked on whale bones I collected at the beach," Gert added.

Since then, Gert has been a self-employed artist, working in ivory, stone, wood and bone. She weaves traditional Unangan baskets, and as a weaver, mentors at Qawalangin Tribe's Camp Quangaayux, together with her third daughter, Diane.

"Would you believe that Diane drew an airplane when she was 2 years old? When my four daughters (Barbara, Sharon, Diane and Wendy) were growing up, I would give them blank papers so they can express themselves and their culture in an art form," Gert continued.

Both Diane and Wendy studied at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, N.M. So did granddaughter, Laresa. All three graduated with degrees in fine arts.

Gert also teaches Unalaska students traditional Unangan design. She has worked with first- through fourth-graders at Unalaska's Eagle View Elementary School, teaching them how to create beautiful full-crown hats from paper and how to make rattles from clam shells utilizing traditional Unangan design components. This project is part of Unalaska School District's after-school program for students, with funding support from Ounalashka Corp.

Gert is a member of the board of directors for the Ounalashka Corp. board of directors.

She serves on its budget, audit, political and shareholder planning committees. Additionally she is the secretary/treasurer of Dutch Harbor Aggregate Company Inc., the vice president of Dutch Harbor Development Corp., and the president of Little Brazil Corp., all wholly-owned subsidiaries of Ounalashka Corp.

"I have several heroes. My mother tops them all. She was strong, gracious, demanding, expecting, and patient. My sister Lillie Hope McGarvey - what a marvelous woman. Also, Helen Merculieff," Gert said.

Gert and Sam, who is retired from military service, will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary next year.

"I don't want any big parties," she told us repeatedly. Ten years ago, the Svarny children planned a surprise anniversary party for their parents, which was attended by more than 250 people from in and out of Unalaska. Surprisingly, it was kept a secret until the day of the event!

Sharon Svarny-Livingston

"I am a very lucky woman. I belong to a family of artists," Sharon Svarny-Livingston wrote on her blog last March. "There is nothing better than knowing that someone has given you something that is an integral part of themselves."

As a lifelong Unalaska resident, Sharon's list of past and present volunteer work and is extensive: Co-administrator of the Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska, chairwoman of the Museum of the Aleutians' board of directors, Unalaskans Against Sexual Assault and Family Violence (USAFV) director, facilitator for the Alaska Initiative for StoryCorps, Unalaska City School board president for six years, executive director for Unalaska/Dutch Harbor Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau, president of Ounalashka Corp.'s Edna P. McCurdy Scholarship Foundation's board of trustees, and church historian.

"I volunteer for many nonprofit organizations, and I owe it to two strong women, my grandmother (Alice Merculieff Hope) and my mother (Gert).

My grandmother was a midwife and she delivered all the babies in the community, including my two younger sisters, Diane and Wendy. She and my aunt (Lillie McGarvey) brought health care to Unalaska long before health care was a big national issue," Sharon said.

"I remember my grandmother carrying a black bag when she went to different houses to deliver the babies. I found out later that the contents of the bag were native plants which she used to cure various forms of illnesses."

Over the past two decades, Sharon has spent many long hours learning about medicinal plants in Unalaska. "All my three kids now travel with medicinal plants in their luggage," she said.

As chairwoman of the Museum of the Aleutians, Sharon leads the board of directors and the staff in achieving the museum's mission: to preserve and share the human history of Unalaska and the Aleutian Island region, and to promote a greater public awareness of the rich cultural legacy of the indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands, as well as the peoples, events and artistry that have impacted the region.

"Besides Mom and Dad, my hero is Ray Hudson. He has done a terrific job of studying, coordinating, and documenting our culture. And, of course, professor Jerah Chadwick, a state writer laureate and a friend," Sharon proudly shared with us.

"My three children, Scott, Alena and Laresa, are all doing fine, so besides doing volunteer work and community service, I now find time to enjoy fishing with Mom and Dad and picking berries," Sharon said.

Alena Syverson

Alena Syverson serves as assistant administrator for the Ounalashka Wellness Center. She studied in Durango, Colo., and said, "I came back to Unalaska for the seafood. I am into painting, too, but I am studying nutrition at UAF." And the whole family members all together said, "Yes, she will be painting food!"

Sharon recalled a painting that Alena did when she was about a year old, which the family appropriately called, "The Anatomically Correct Male Elephant." One of Alena's heroes (outside of family) is local artist Carolyn Reed, because "she is a risk-taker."

Laresa Syverson

Laresa Syverson works for Ounalashka Corp. as an administrative assistant. An avid photographer, she is into acrylic painting and likes to weave, too.

Laresa is learning the Unangan language and is a member of the Unangan Dance Troop. "Besides my family members, my hero is Moses Dirks. He has taught me the importance of the Unangan language and culture," Laresa said. She has also taught Unangan Dance for the Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska.

Wendy Svarny-Hawthorne

The youngest of Gert's children, Wendy Svarny-Hawthorne prefers watercolor painting because according to her, "it is less stinky, less messy." Reading Ray Hudson's "Stories Out of Slumber" inspired her to tell Aleut stories and legends through her art work. As such, her watercolors depict Aleut narratives about man's relationship with the stars and the solar system and colorful legends of hunting. Wendy said her work as an artist is inspired 100 percent by her heritage.

She studied printmaking at the Institute of American Indian Arts and earned a bachelor's of arts degree in economics from Colorado College. Wendy began serving as Ounalashka Corps.' chief executive officer in 2002, seven months before receiving her master's in business administration degree from the University of Washington in 2003.

Wendy started her career at Ounalashka Corp. as secretary/receptionist. She then served as the manager of shareholder affairs and the board of director's recording secretary. She has been the writer, photographer and editor of the shareholders' newsletter since 1992. As chief executive officer, she is instrumental in housing a growing art collection at Ounalashka Corp.'s corporate offices, including original works by Alaska artists Gert Svarny, Pat Lekanoff-Gregory, Carolyn Reed, Michelle Barron and Agnes Thompson. Wendy's paintings and drawings, which have been rendered into Christmas cards, are prominently displayed in the Ounalashka Corp. lobby.

"I told my mom I will learn how to weave. I think I will have to postpone it for a couple of more years," Wendy said jokingly.

She did not hesitate to mention that her heroes are her mom and dad. "My dad, he can do anything and everything," Wendy said with pride.

"Of course, my husband, Greg Hawthorne, is another one of my heroes," she said. As director of sales and marketing for Ace Air Cargo, Greg is based in Anchorage. He divides his time between the firm's Anchorage headquarters and the Dutch Harbor-Unalaska station. Wendy's two sons, Jacob and Nicky, are drummers for the Unangan Dance Troop.

Barbara Svarny Carlson and Diane Svarny

Gert's other two daughters, Barbara and Diane, were not present during the interview, but the Svarny clan talked proudly about them and their artistic abilities.

Diane Svarny lives in Seattle, but she has traveled home to mentor children in weaving at the Qawalangin Tribe's annual Camp Qungaayux for many years.

Gert's oldest daughter, Barbara Svarny Carlson, grew up in Unalaska and now lives in Anchorage. She earned dual bachelor of art degrees in elementary and special education, with a minor in psychology. She has done post-graduate work at University of Alaska in Anchorage and Fairbanks, UAF Aleutians, Alaska Pacific University and studied Unangax language and culture. Barbara taught in Puyallup, Wash., Kenai and Anchorage before stepping down as a formal educator to raise her children, Erik and Mischa. In addition, Barbara has come here to work with students in the Unalaska City School District on Unangam storytelling.

She was a 2006 HAIL (Honoring Alaska's Indigenous Literature) award recipient for her work as the coordinator/editor for "Unangam Hitnisangin/Aleut Plants: A Region-Based Curriculum for Grades 4-6." Barbara was the first president of the Aleut Institute and the Association of Unangan/Unangas Educators (AUE; as a current AUE board member, she edits the association's newsletter.

The Svarnys

A painter. A sculptor. A dancer. A writer. A photographer. A musician. A storyteller.

And it all started with the blank papers and paint that Gert gave to her children. With husband Sam's "come-out-of-the-basement" support and encouragement, three generations became creators of art. Each has cultivated artistic skills that are recognized and admired. Each has a style of her/his own. Each has a class of her/his own.

I remember what my mother used to tell me when she was still alive, "You can't give or share something that you don't have or own ..."

The Svarnys have, they own, and they share. They give, they help others.

"Ugigdada. Agitaasiin sismida."

Next time you see a Svarny family member - go ahead and ask what these Unangan words mean. For these words symbolize what the Svarny family stands for.

We are thankful for the many achievements and accomplishments of the Svarny family, especially in preserving Unangan culture, tradition and values and passing them on to their children, their grandchildren, to the Unalaska community, to Alaska and to the world in their own traditional, creative and artistic ways.

And for this, Planet Dutch is honored to recognize "The Svarny Family of Artists" as its Unalaska Hero of the Week during this Thanksgiving holiday.

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Svarnys are a community powerhouse