Artist, 106, urged staying ‘useful’

After retiring as an elementary teacher, Thelma Frame became an eager student of visual arts.

Pursuing that passion led to statewide recognition over multiple decades and to becoming an elder in Indiana’s art community.

Frame, 106, died Sept. 16 in Westfield. A celebration of life took place Oct. 5 at Zionsville Meadows Assisted Living.

In Zionsville Meadows’ announcement of a celebration for Frame’s 104th birthday in May 2023, staff noted she was still volunteering to lead creative activities where she resided.

When asked the secret to living life to the fullest, she always said to keep moving, be busy and “stay useful,” according to Richmond Art Museum staff.

Bess Sturgis of Cambridge City called Frame “a generous mentor, a gentle critic and a lovely friend to so many artists.”

“Thelma was an amazing individual,” Sturgis said. “She handed out hope, inspiration and a desire to do one’s best as if these things were simple penny candy. It is impossible to guess how many younger artists benefited from knowing her and her works. Her influence stretched across generations.” 

The Hebron, Indiana, native graduated from Indiana University with a degree in elementary education. She taught for 40 years in Columbus, Merrillville and Richmond.

Upon retirement, she fulfilled her lifelong desire to be an artist and studied with Robert Brubaker, Rosie McNees and Don Dennis. Much of her work was country landscapes inspired by her youth on a farm where she began drawing.

She aimed to bring attention to the farmland disappearing because of development and continual modernization. She captured fallen trees, dirt roads to forgotten barns, fields and pastures.

Although she worked in several media, Frame was best known for her pastel paintings. She enjoyed participating in paint-outs across Indiana.

Frame began exhibiting at Richmond Art Museum in its Annual Exhibition of Indiana and Ohio Artists in 1971 and made her final appearance in the RAM Annual in 2014.

Also in 2014, RAM offered a retrospective exhibition of her work that delighted both Frame and the public, said RAM Education Director Lance Crow.

RAM houses 11 of Frame’s artworks in its permanent collection, including examples of her watercolors, drawings and pastels.

Frame consistently exhibited at prestigious statewide shows such as Hoosier Salon and Indiana Heritage Arts.

She was active with several regional groups, including Richmond Area Artists, Western Ohio Watercolor Society, Dayton Society of Painters and Sculptors, and Whitewater Valley, Brown County, Preble County and Darke County art associations.

Frame’s talents extended to other arts as well, according to her obituary from Boersma Funeral Home. She also restarted violin lessons after retirement. She joined Richmond Strings Unlimited and later the Muncie Chamber Players.