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Libby Momberg
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Des Moines |
interviewed 3-11-1999 | painting |
artwork
2008 update
interview clips
| Elizabeth "Libby" Bennett Momberg was born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1930. She grew up in Omaha, then moved when she was 13, to Ames, Iowa. She was the youngest of four children. | She attended college at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri. She is divorced, and has five grown children. She has an interior design business, and paints in watercolor and oil. | |
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| Farm on NW 44th copyright © Libby Momberg All Rights Reserved |
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| Irises from My Garden copyright © Libby Momberg All Rights Reserved |
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| My Garden copyright © Libby Momberg All Rights Reserved |
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| Wheat Field copyright © Libby Momberg All Rights Reserved |
| Early
art
(29 sec.) |
Starting
again
(58 sec.) |
Design
work
(55 sec.) |
Painting
(37 sec.) |
Making
art
(33 sec.) |
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 (201KB) |
(395KB) |
(375KB) |
(252KB) |
(230KB) |
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My mother kind of pushed the art, as I recall. I don't know why, but she did. I loved painting in college, but I never took it seriously. I wanted to get married and have a family, and so I didn't ever think of it as being a special thing in my life, but I enjoyed it. 'Course when I had my family I didn't have a lot of time, but after a while it got to the point where I took time. It was really important to me then.
When my kids started—you know, I needed to entertain them—we would sit and draw or color or do things like that. I think the big thing was after my fifth child was born, that's when my doctor suggested that I go take some lessons and get out of the house and do things like that. She was right; very, very right. That was what I needed to do. It was probably about 1961 or something like that when I really got involved again. And then I did start to go to the Art Center.
And in '74, I had to go to work and bring in some money to help the family. So it was really painful to have to stop. I still painted somewhat at that point, but I had to stop taking classes. I went back a couple times, but it just never was the same. I always loved taking those classes.
I started helping down at Standard Glass and Paint. After a few months, my boss decided to retire, so they made me the manager. So I stayed there. I enjoyed my job there a lot; it was a lot of fun. And it was funny, because I kind of caught on to everything so easily. I couldn't believe it! After being at home with all those kids all those years, I was surprised that I seemed to understand paint and stain and everything; it just came naturally. Then the big boss—the owner—decided to sell out, and so it was a good opportunity for me to work out of my home on my own.
I feel like my artwork has helped with the design work, because doing a room is kind of like painting a picture, so I think they work together.
I used to do some very abstract work in acrylic paints, and one day I just got tired of doing that. And yet sometimes I'd like to use that again, because I liked some of the paintings I did. But now things are more realistic and I like to paint what I see.
I know a lot of people think it's stupid to paint flowers, but I just think they're so beautiful, and enjoy them, and so therefore I paint them. I go out in the country and see things I like and I want to paint them—I want to put it down.
I'm very thankful because if there's ever a time when I feel alone or anything, that's all I have to do is think about doing [art]. And I just feel very fortunate that I have that to keep me doing something interesting. Because I feel like I could paint and paint and paint and paint—and waste a lot of paper!
I read something that I think is so true: that when an artist is painting, it's beyond human happiness. And that's true. I couldn't go any place and be that happy.
