It’s been a sad and busy week for me. My mother passed away on Monday, and her funeral was yesterday. She was quite a woman, and will be deeply missed. Thanks to all of you who held us in your thoughts and prayers, and gave us food, flowers, and hugs.
When I returned to Bowman, I volunteered my time at Pioneer Trails Regional Museum. I developed an Indian exhibit, “Native Americans in Dakota Territory, and a native plant garden, “The Prairie Walk.”
Cris with Indian Exhibit
Entrance to Indian Exhibit
Cave Hills Rock Art on Exhibit Wall
Cris (in pink jacket) on Rock Art Survey in Cave Hills
Fountain and Pavers at the Prairie Walk Garden
The projects at the museum got me out into the countryside surrounding Bowman, and I began taking photographs of the prairie. While making labels for the Indian exhibit, I learned to use a computer, which I then used to make note cards and prints of my prairie scenes. I sold some of them at the Western Edge Bookstore in Medora. During this time, NMN, Inc. of Minnesota began publishing my photographs as post cards.
“Big Sky Day” Pastel Drawing
The drawing above is based on a photograph I took after a day of recording rock art in the North Cave Hills. It is one of my favorite images, so elemental and so expressive of the prairie sky and horizon.
From about 1993 to 2003, I didn’t make any drawings. I’d been concentrating on the museum projects and my photographs of the prairie. My interest in the prairie led me to compile a book manuscript that combined quotations about the grasslands with my photographs. I didn’t find a publisher, but it greatly enhanced my knowledge and appreciation for this country.
Around 2003 or 2004, I tried my first landscape drawings. The country had been slowly seeping into my skin, and I was being pulled more and more to make art from it. Whenever I saw a landscape painting in a magazine, I felt I wanted to do that. Then I got a Wolf Kahn landscape book, and really looked at it. I remembered seeing his large paintings at the Gerald Peters Gallery in Santa Fe, and they had made a lasting impression. It seemed to me that I could come up with some simple images to start with, just to see how it would go. One night I had a dream in which I was drawing clouds over the prairie in bold, vigourous strokes. I was so excited about it, that in my dream I ran to the art store without stopping to put my shoes on. When I woke up, I knew that I just had to give landscape drawing a whirl.
Cris with First Landscape Exhibit, 2005
After some time, I was able to put together a show at Pioneer Trails Regional Museum. It was a combination of my first landscape drawings, along with my photographs of the Badlands. I later had an exhibit at the Bowman Library, as well as one at the Crossroads Arts Center in Hettinger.
Crossroads Arts Center in Hettinger
In 2007, Bowman County celebrated its centennial, and I helped Colleen Kelley put together a calendar and book for the occasion.
Bowman County Centennial Calendar
Bowman County Centennial Book
In 2007, NMN,Inc. published six of my photographs in their North Dakota calendar. North Dakota Horizons published three of my photographs in their 2008 North Dakota Calendar. One was of crocus blossoms at sunset, another a windmill at sunrise, and also one of sunflowers in a field. It was very exciting to see my work in print.
I continued to work on my landscape drawings. The first ones were drawn with soft pastels, but as I found more complex subjects, I began to use pastel pencils as well. In 2009, I created a series of ten Equus drawings that were shown at the offices of Governor John Hoeven and First Lady Mikey Hoeven.
Equus Exhibit Brochure
One of my landscapes, an image of a summer cloud near Talbot Butte, was chosen for the Arts Dakota touring exhibition, which is being presented around the state in celebration of the North Dakota Council on the Arts’ 40th anniversary. Many of the state’s best artists are represented in this show.
Arts Dakota Exhibit at Dickinson State University
Twenty of my pastel landscapes were selected by the North Dakota Art Gallery Association to go on a touring exhibit from 2009 to 2011. The exhibit is titled “Prairie Pastels” and is currently at Memorial Union Gallery at NDSU. There will be a reception on Thursday, November 19th, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Monte Yellow Bird’s work is being shown in conjunction with mine, and he will unveil a commissioned piece from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.
“Prairie Pastels” at Bismarck Art & Galleries Association
So far, the “Prairie Pastels” exhibit has been at Jamestown Art Center, Bismarck Art & Galleries Associatio, Cando Art Center, and Memorial Union Gallery at NDSU. Future venues will include Lake Region Heritage Center in Devils Lake, James Memorial Art Center in Williston, and Northwest Art Center in Minot. It’s a real honor to have my landscape work shown around the state of North Dakota.
Sally Jeppson, gallery manager of the Jamestown Art Center, wrote this for an article in the Jamestown Sun newspaper: “With subtle and simple style Fulton’s pastels portray moments of sublime solitude and intense drama that the prairies have to offer. Visitors to the exhibit will see familiar landscapes and will marvel at the artist’s ability to capture these scenic vistas as they change with the season and time of day.”
I guess that just about wraps up this short history. It’s been interesting for me to go back and think about my influences and circumstances that have brought me to this point on my journey. I have found lots of material I need to get more organized, but this should give you an idea of my life from Bowman to Minneapolis, Taos, and back to Bowman.
In 1988, I moved to Taos, New Mexico, a famous art colony that I’d been fascinated with for years. To start with, I showed my art at Taylor Art Gallery, which was a nifty little adobe building on a hill in Taos. Subsequently, I exhibited at Fennell Art Gallery, Austing-Wilder Fine Art, and the E.S. Lawrence Gallery.
Blue Dancer
Dancing Heart
Northern Plains Powwow
Grass Dancer Drawing
Fancy Dancer Drawing
Most of my drawings during this time were done on illustration board which I coated with a mixture of pumice, acrylic paint, gesso, and water. In an article about the Austing-Wilder art gallery, it was said, “Another Taos artist, Cris Fulton, interprets the rhythms and personal significance of Indian dances in pastels, and her energy is palpable.”
Article in Taos Magazine, July 1992
Here’s what I had to say about my work in a Taos Magazine article by Sawnie Morris in 1992: “Something happens when people start dancing to the primal beat of drums. Something that cannot be expressed by any other means. They say that the drum is the heartbeat, and I believe it! When the drums are really throbbing, they resonate in your heart, sending a dancing pulse throughout your whole body. When people dance, the real joy, power, beauty, and mystery of life can be deeply felt and seen. That is what I hope people get from my drawings.”
Fennell Art Gallery
Jaguar Honor Song
There was a group of Aztec dancers who would perform in Taos Plaza during Fiesta time in the summer. I found their dances completely mesmerizing. I photographed them with slow shutter speeds so that their forms would blur and become more abstract.
Aztec Fiesta
Ritual
Aztec Dancer Drawing
As much as I loved doing the drawings of dancers, that subject matter was not always available. I started exploring themes based on myth and imagination, just to stretch my horizons. Taos was filled with so many interesting people and world views. It really opened my eyes and mind to different ways of seeing and thinking.
Transformation
Winter Spirit
Eagle Alchemy
The Taos News, March 1993
In a 1993 article in The Taos News, Bob Mentzinger wrote, ” The subjects Fulton depicts are not sober or sedate. They burst off the boards with wings spread wide, auras glowing bright, nearly supernatural color suffusing a wide area around each drawing. There may have been more pastoral or more classically beautiful depictions of the Native American culture, but few leap out as powerfully as Fulton’s.”
Self-portrait with Hand-prints
Cris with her Art in Taos
My time in Taos was utterly fascinating, and thoroughly enjoyable. The ancient dances out at the Pueblo, the Hispanic ceremonies and culture, the many, many artists and galleries, Taos Mountain, trips to Santa Fe, the Rio Grande gorge, adobe architecture… the list could go on and on. However, by 1993, I’d come to a dead-end in my art career, there was a hantavirus scare that caused people to avoid New Mexico, and my family needed some help. Glad to have spent at least some time there, I packed my bags and headed back to Bowman, land of my birth. They say Taos Mountain kicks some people out after five years. Maybe so.
Well, the summer after being a basic skills teacher, I headed for Bemidji State College in Minnesota to take some photography workshops. I had an enjoyable time, and learned a lot. Then I moved to Minneapolis, where I had some relatives I could stay with for a while. I found several photo-related jobs to start with, but then I saw an ad in the paper by an artist who was looking for someone to help him with a gallery. That turned out to be Floyd Johnson, who wanted to create a space to show his Scandinavian and Viking art. I helped him convert an old warehouse on First Avenue North, and away we went. He sold a lot of prints, and I assisted him with framing jobs.
Cris in Norwegian Bunad at Floyd Johnson Gallery
Floyd did a few Western things as well, and as time went by, I showed some of my first drawings of cowboys and Indians in his gallery. They were fairly small, around 18 x 24 inches, and were mainly pencil drawings with opaque white washes. Once in a while, I would also try an oil painting.
My First Drawings for a Gallery
Working for Floyd was a lot of fun. He had a sweet, sweet mother named Gunhild, and a cabin north of the Twin Cities where we went cross-country skiing. Naturally, he was a Vikings fan, and we took in several football games when we could. My father sometimes got tickets from the bank, and they didn’t go to waste!
Eventually, the Floyd Johnson Gallery closed and Floyd worked out of his house. I moved on to show my work with John Boler at Avanyu Gallery in Butler Square, then Riverplace. An art agent, Harold Engesser, also picked up some of my work to show in galleries in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. By then, I was working with soft pastel, doing mainly portraits of Indians and powwow dancers. Some of these were quite large, around 30 x 40 inches, and were done on illustration board.
Fancy Dancer Drawings
Portrait of Lisa
I attended lots of powwows in Minneapolis, and got to know some of the dancers and models as friends. Many good times were had over the years I spent drawing Indians there.
Photo of a Young Fancy Dancer
In April, 1986, the Whittier Globe newspaper published an article about my work. In it, Larel Cazin said, “I found it very refreshing to meet such a progressive and dedicated artist whose beliefs are to illustrate beauty through the creation of her work. The images demonstrate strength and love of life — a direct reflection of the artist’s passion for beauty and art.”
The Artist in Minneapolis
Living in Minneapolis was a beautiful, educational experience. I lived near the Art Institute, so I got to see lots of world-famous art. Whenever I felt like it, I could pop in and go see a Van Gogh, Gauguin, or Rembrandt. Probably the most moving painting for me was Rembrandt’s “Lucretia.” I remember seeing Renoir’s “Luncheon of the Boating Party” hung all by itself in a special exhibit room. That made quite an impression. I also got to see the Picasso show when it was at the Walker Art Center.
Minneapolis is a gorgeous city, and I loved to stroll up and down Nicollet Mall when the trees had little white lights on them. In the summer and fall, it was very pleasant to ride my bike around Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet. Nice as it was, though, Minneapolis never felt like home. I think there was way too much green for me!
Avanyu Gallery in Butler Square
John Boler’s Avanyu Gallery was filled with wonderful art, mainly from the Southwest. It gave me the urge to see that country for myself, and to experience all the art galleries, Indian pueblos, Spanish culture, mountains, deserts, and rivers that I’d been hearing about and reading about in magazines as well. Next stop on the journey: Taos, New Mexico!
Following my year as a VISTA volunteer, I taught basic skills and art in Slope County for another year. I lived in a trailer and was moved from one rural school to another after about six weeks at each place. This was another amazing experience, and I think it had a great deal of influence in my life. It allowed me to live in a rural setting for the first time, and really soak in the beauty of southwestern North Dakota.
My favorite location was the Bullion View School, out in the Badlands country. Every morning, a flock of turkeys would walk past my trailer, and every afternoon they would return. Family members would come out to visit, enjoy the scenery, and pick buffaloberries. There were only four students out there, I believe, and they were very polite and well-behaved. I didn’t have any running water, and a couple of them said, “Can we pump your water for you, Miss Fulton?” That was a world away from my student teaching days at a high school in Grand Forks, I can tell you. On Fridays, I taught art, which was a treat. I remember telling the students about Vincent Van Gogh, then played “Starry, Starry Night” for them, and how it brought tears to one girl’s eyes.
The Basic Skills Teacher
Note the beaded necklace, which I made at Pierre Indian School, and the polyester pantsuit, which my mother sewed for me. She learned to sew from family and neighbors, and kept her three girls attired in the best style she could. I have to give her a lot of credit and appreciation for that.
In my spare time, I went around the country interviewing and photographing the early residents of Slope County. There were lots of interesting people with vivid memories of those pioneer times, and I thought it would be good to preserve some of their stories. I think I’d been inspired by the Foxfire books about people in southern Appalachia. When I finished my year of teaching basic skills, I decided to move to Minneapolis and try harder to become an artist. I left my interview materials with other historically-minded people, and they carried on with the project, which was published as “Slope Saga.”
Jessie Henke in Slope Saga
This is one of the 1,177 pages that were published in Slope Saga. It features my mentor, Jessie Henke, and some of her art. One of the paintings is of a ranch scene as a storm approaches, and the other one is of the Kienenberger fishing hole. While re-reading the story about Jessie, I came across a paragraph talking about a sod schack she lived in so that her son could attend school. As the mice ran over the sod roof, the dirt sifted down. They also had pack rats, and Jessie would take walnuts to bed with her so she could throw them at the rats when they got too noisy at night. We’ve been having trouble with a mouse in the house this fall, and reading that part of Jessie’s history made me feel a lot better! I think it would be good for all the present-day citizens to take a look through some of these pages, and to see how really good they have it now.
After graduating from college, I joined VISTA, which was Volunteers in Service to America. I was sent to Pierre Indian School in South Dakota, along with six or so other volunteers, mostly from the eastern part of the United States. To this day, I remember their wide-eyed astonishment at seeing their first antelope, and how they pulled off the road and oohed and aahed at a spectacular red sunset over the prairie.
Pierre was a boarding school, and there were children attending from several surrounding states. Our job was to help with recreation after their school hours. I had some darkroom photography equipment, so I decided to upgrade an old shop building, and put in a darkroom. The school provided cameras and film for the ones who were interested. We would go on field trips near the Missouri River, then come back and develop and enlarge our pictures. I helped put together a school yearbook, and I remember one of the descendants of Chief Red Cloud signing it, “Hang in there, Cris, and keep on taking pictures!”
Fixing up a Building for a Darkroom
Cris with Students at Pierre
Being at Pierre Indian School, though only for a year, had a tremendous impact on my life. It was the first time I’d had a chance to meet and get to know so many Indian people. Several of the kids said that we volunteers were the only friends they’d had so far. Some of them had really sad tales to tell, and some of them were feisty and just full of life. We had a party after school one night, and I danced to “Proud Mary” with a terrific little boy named Chris. I wonder sometimes where he and the others have ended up, after all these years. I learned that one of the girls was killed in a car accident in Montana, and that made me very sad. It was during this year that I saw my very first powwow, which was at Eagle Butte. I couldn’t believe all the color, sounds, movement, and beauty. Powwows would provide inspiration for many of my future drawings, and I owe it all to my time as a VISTA volunteer. From that point on, I paid a lot more attention to Indian history and culture, and it has greatly enhanced my view of life.
In May, 1972, I went to Europe with a bunch of people from UND. What a fascinating trip that was! We saw a lot of places in France, Switzerland, and Germany, even did a little hitch-hiking. Bad weather near Bangor, Maine gave us the bonus of exploring New York City as well, before the flight over the ocean. One of my companions was a fellow art major, and a couple others were people I knew from Bowman County. Many on the tour belonged to Good News Folk, a Lutheran singing group from UND.
Cris with Fellow Art Major, John
The Kunsthaus, or Art Museum in Zurich
If I had to choose my favorite part of the trip, it would probably be wandering around the meadows of Switzerland. The parents of my grandmother in Amidon had come from that country, and it gave me a chance to see what their lives might have been like.
Neuschwanstein Castle in Fussen, Germany
Here I am at King Ludwig II of Bavaria’s castle, along with a companion from Williston, and Fritz, who gave us a ride in his vegetable truck. I just learned last year from a program on T.V. that this was the site of hidden art stolen by the Nazis. It had more than 6,000 pieces of stolen art, jewelry, and furniture. I think they called King Ludwig the Swan King as well as Mad King Ludwig. He was a very eccentric man, anyway, and interesting.
Sketch of Sleeping Man
This sketch was in the same book I used to keep a journal of the trip. I’ve read parts of the journal as I scanned these pictures, and I can’t believe all the things I’d forgotten! Maybe someday when I have time I can publish some of the writing, as well. The imaginary doodles were probably done while on a bus or train, or just waiting around for the next destination.
Sketch One
Sketch Two
Sketch Three
Sketch Four
Sketch Five
After graduating from high school in Bowman, I went to the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks to study art. I have wonderful memories from those days of interesting art classes, good times with friends, and a beautiful campus. Too bad I had to receive a degree and move on!
At Squires Hall before a Fraternity Party
On the back of this photo, I wrote, “Hell’s Angels party by TKE fraternity. I went with Tony from Ottawa, Canada. What a wild night!” Well, the details of that evening escape me now, but it looks like I was ready to have some fun.
Figure Drawing Classroom
Some of the instructors back in those days were Robert Nelson, Paul Fundingsland, Ron Schaeffer, and Jackie McElroy. I enjoyed them all, but my very favorite class was printmaking. I spent many an hour making prints, both during and after class.
A Fellow Art Major in Printmaking Classroom
Cris the Art Major
Here I am, visiting a fellow art major in her dormitory room at Squires Hall. It’s kind of a shock to me now, seeing how long my hair was at that time. Art majors usually had some project going on, so it was enjoyable to check in with them from time to time.
In 1969, I went to Mexico for around three weeks with the Spanish Club from Bowman High School. We were led by Sarah Beyer, our Spanish teacher, who had a deep knowledge and love for the country. Her courage in taking a bunch of North Dakota girls to a foreign country for that long a time still strikes me as extremely admirable.
“Mexico or Bust” Bus
As I look back now, I think the intense colors, beautiful fountains, patios, beaches, floating gardens, flower markets, pyramids, mountains, museums, and murals probably had a very strong impact on me visually.
Mexican Restaurant with Purple Wall
Sculpture with Water Feature
Castle of Art at Santa Catarina, Nuevo Leon
On June 19, we had been to a marvelous cave filled with stalactites and stalagmites with dramatic lighting and music. On our way back, we saw a white castle on a hill, and decided to see if we could get a closer look. It belonged to Manuel Frias, a furniture maker, painter, and sculptor, and he’d started building the castle eight years before. Work was still being done on the towers. He had a huge, very impressive Olmec head sculpture and an Aztec calendar on his veranda.
Olmec Head Sculpture
Mrs. Beyer told him I wanted to be an artist, and he said, “If you want to be an artist, then you can. Paint and paint and paint.” Then he gave me a post card of his Castillo del Arte, and wrote “Para la futura artista” on the back of it, along with his signature. That was an incredibly affirming experience for a young North Dakotan who was about to embark on a study of art, let me tell you.
I went through more old files and scrapbooks this week-end to find more material for my story. Looking back, I see things that may have influenced me years ago, that I was not even aware of until now.
Cris in Center, with Sisters
I actually came across several old photos of me reading comic books, but thought this one showed how much they captured my attention. My sisters and I certainly went through a lot of comic books at my Grandma Lil’s house in Rhame.
New Typewriter
This photo shows me with a new typewriter that I received as a Christmas present when I was about nine years old. I remember how happy I was to get it. That’s my aunt Jackie from Miles City visiting with me as I try it out. Note the realistic-looking Christmas tree in the background.
At Swanke’s Branding
My mother’s family lived in Rhame, and my father’s family lived in Amidon, so we got to know quite a few people and places around the country. This branding was at Bob and Beryl Swanke’s Cedar Ridge Ranch west of Rhame, near the rugged Badlands country.
On Family Vacation
That’s me in between my sisters on a camping trip in Montana. I was fond of cowboy hats way back then, too! Our family made regular trips to the Black Hills as well, and we stayed at cabins in Spearfish.
Jesse Henke of Rhame
One of the earliest artistic influences in my life was Jessie Henke of Rhame, North Dakota. She was a neighbor of my great-aunt, Emma Perrin, and I used to visit her when I was in Rhame. Jessie always had a painting in progress, and it helped me see that the country all around us was material for art-making. Jessie was a dear lady, and I loved to listen to her stories of the early days in Bowman County.