Anita Lynn Wetzel

ROSENDALE- Anita Lynn Wetzel died Sunday, March 14, 2021, peacefully in her sleep at home, surrounded by family and friends after a courageous, four year battle with cancer. Born on May 27, 1949 in Sauquoit, N.Y., Anita was a deeply passionate and devoted visual artist. She received a BFA in Painting from SUNY New Paltz and subsequently co-founded the Women’s Studio Workshop (WSW) in Rosendale along with artists Barbara Leoff Burge, Ann Kalmbach and Tatana Kellner. Anita’s love of music, especially jazz, connected her to the Creative Music Studio (CMS) in the late 1970s/early 1980s where she wrote state and federal grants for CMS funding. There she met and heard the live music of celebrated jazz greats Ornette Coleman, George Lewis, John Zorn, Cecil Taylor, among others. Jazz greatly influenced her art — her canvases are striking for their playful rhythms of line and color, jaunty angular convergences that come alive eliciting a unique buoyancy. She worked at WSW until 1980 and then moved to New York City. Anita believed strongly in the mission of benevolent non-profits, worked tirelessly for the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, The Trust for Public Land and the Coalition for the Homeless. She returned to the Women’s Studio Workshop in 1995 as Director of Development until her retirement in 2017. Anita was often the lynchpin between women artists around the world as she continuously networked and connected artists to one another and encouraged them to develop their art at WSW. Anita actively exhibited her work at regional galleries including SUNY Ulster, Donskoj, WSW, KMOCA and at the Galeria Nacionale in San José, Costa Rica. She travelled extensively and was an artist-in-residence in Spain, France, Costa Rica, Blue Mountain Center and at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA), among other U.S. residencies. An avid letter writer, reader and lover of literature, among her favorite poets (and there were many) were Louise Glück, Mary Oliver, Wallace Stevens, and W.S. Merwin. For years she studied writing with writer and performer Steve Clorfeine. A lover of live dance she enthusiastically attended performances of the Merce Cunningham, Twyla Tharp and Martha Graham dance companies, among many others. About ten years ago she became a member of the Shambhala meditation path at Sky Lake Retreat in Rosendale, a meditation center. This was Anita’s mantra:May I be happy with myself todayMay I be peaceful with things as they areMay I love myself unconditionally here and nowand may I live with joy and peaceA strong community of friends and fellow artists constantly cared for Anita and were extremely helpful when she was undergoing treatment to control the cancer. During the last two weeks of her life her long-time friend and former neighbor, Dr. Susan Righi drove from her home in Ohio to care for Anita sharing with other close friends how to help, including her brother Gary Wetzel. Among those giving selflessly to care for her until the end were Ann Kalmbach, Tatana Kellner. To leave a personal condolence for family and friends please visit www.GJMoylanFuneralHome.com https://www.lastingmemories.com/anita-lynn-wetzel