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<\/p>\nBEMIDJI \u2014 You certainly couldn\u2019t blame Audrey Merschman if she slowed down a bit after turning 92 years old this summer. She has endured much loss recently, having to leave her home of 67 years and losing her husband, Kenny, who died in January. They were married for 71 years.<\/p>\n
But Audrey can\u2019t slow down. Fortunately, her longtime passion for painting keeps her busy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was born with a lot of energy,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to keep going, because Kenny would want me to straighten up and do what I can do. I\u2019m trying to be a role model for my children. How we get old gracefully and die gracefully, hopefully that will be a role model, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now a resident of Sanford Health\u2019s Windsong Senior Living, Audrey has turned one room into her art studio, although she prefers to paint while standing in front of her kitchen sink, where the lighting is better. In addition to painting pictures, she has illustrated books, designed greeting cards, and recently started painting on birch bark and rocks.<\/p>\n
Among her biggest fans are her six children, 13 grandchildren and 32 great-grandchildren. She also has made quite an impression on her fellow Windsong residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cAudrey is just amazing,\u201d said Andrea Daly, Windsong\u2019s activity coordinator. \u201cAll the ladies at coffee, they’ll talk about her paintings and how beautiful they are. Everybody in here knows who Audrey is, and they just love her.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Audrey loves painting. She figures it was about 50 years ago when she first picked up a brush. \u201cJust amateur stuff at first,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She is a self-taught artist.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn’t like you could go on a computer and look it up,\u201d Audrey said. \u201cYou had to figure it out yourself. You’d see something in a magazine and find something you like. And I would paint it, just because I wanted to.\u201d<\/p>\n
What started as a hobby has become somewhat of a business for Audrey, who sells her work at a variety of local businesses, including Ruttger\u2019s Birchmont Lodge.<\/p>\n
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Audrey Merschman started painting about 50 years ago and continues at age 92. In addition to painting pictures, she has illustrated books, designed greeting cards, and recently started painting on birch bark and rocks.<\/p>\n
Contributed<\/p>\n
\u201cI never expected to make a dollar,\u201d she said. \u201cI did because I loved it, and I still love it. It gives me pleasure. And if I had to just paint and throw it in the garbage, I’d do that, then paint another one.\u201d<\/p>\n
It also gives her pleasure to see her paintings hanging in someone\u2019s home.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’ve done a lot of portraits, mostly of my family,\u201d she said. \u201cI go to my children’s homes and of course, they\u2019ve got plenty of my paintings. And if I go into somebody’s home and see one hanging there, it makes me happy, because they wouldn\u2019t have to put them on the wall if they didn’t like them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Audrey figures she has made as much as $500 for one of her paintings, but she insists it\u2019s not about the money.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never waited to get a big price on anything,\u201d she said. \u201cI always thought that if somebody really liked it, I\u2019d rather just sell it and have them enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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