Tribute to Orland J. Rourke 1930--1997
For many he was teacher and friend. For two he was brother. For one he was Shirley’s.
To me he was Dad.
He had an active and creative mind always looking for that something only he could see. Learning from many stops along gravel roads, and me going back on foot, to retrieve something in the road. Items and scraps that would, inevitably, become a part of a forthcoming collage piece.
He was always moving, funny, and a creative genius that used ceramics, painting, weaving, drawing, collage, photography, etc. to create. An accomplished builder, trained by his father, he could do wonders with time, imagination, and wood. Bringing many of these together made for some memorable works of art.
Orland taught first in a one-room schoolhouse near Langdon, ND. He was eighteen and fresh out of high school. After a stint in the Air Force he graduated from Concordia College in 1959.
The career and life of Dad was teaching at Ben Franklin Junior High, as well as McKinley Elementary School in Fargo. In 1967 Orland began teaching at Concordia College. He would, after 28 years of teaching, retire in 1995 as Professor Emeritus. He could spend more time at the lake and his new studio, with wood and electric kilns.
The very extensive and diverse work that he created was distinct. Time has been kind to Dad’s work. His ubiquitous body of finished work is a comfort. All the art!
His creative mind, along with those large hands, was prolific. Some of Orland’s work is still for sale today.
My Uncle Vern and I had the distinct honor of having Dad for a teacher- Vern in the one room school house, and me at Concordia. We are both the better for it.
Dad was a born teacher. And he was a smart guy. I learned so much from my Dad. One thing sticks out. He was always up beat. Dad was never bored. And Dad liked to talk. Oh yes he did. On many road trips I would just listen. Growing up on the farm makes you a hard worker. He transformed his work ethic from the farm to educating, creating, and making an impact on so many.
A conversation overheard after Dad was gone at an opening went like this. “Yeah, that Orland used to really churn it out”. “And really funky S**T too” I remember smiling, laughing and thinking…… Yes he would have swung his head back and laughed too.
This is truly a thrill, and a little bittersweet- an honor to be having a show with my father. One thing for sure, he would have been giving me a couple head nods and winks of his approval. -Bracken Rourke