Joan Weldon
Artist, free spirit

For a short period of her 44 years in the Live Oak Canyon area of LaVerne, Joan Cecile Weldon and her 3 children lived without a front door on their house. An artist who seized every opportunity to bring art into her home and share it with her children, Ms. Weldon had nailed an assortment of rusty objects to the door—items most others would regard as garbage—and her unique, home front creation was noticed, and requested.

“Someone wanted it for an art show, so we were without a front door for awhile,” said her daughter, Penn Weldon.

This was hardly the first time an artistic endeavor eradicated, at least temporarily, the originally intended function of an object in Ms. Weldon’s household.  Her daughters recall the tie-dye and batik era, when “nothing white was left in the house”: nothing.        

“When you batik underwear, you just can’t get the wax out of it,” recalled Ms. Weldon’s other daughter, Shelli Weldon.

 Ms. Weldon, executive director of the dA Center for the Arts in Pomona, died at her home in La Verne on August 14, 2007 after a yearlong struggle with cancer. She was 70.

Born in Alhambra on September 23, 1936, Ms. Weldon grew up there and in Sierra Madre. As a high school student at a catholic school, she found herself in trouble no small number of times: she was a prankster at heart and in practice. During one holiday season, when she and several classmates were charged with decorating the school Christmas tree, the supervising nun fell asleep. Not wanting to bypass an opportunity for mischief, Ms. Weldon and her friends tied the nun to the chair in which she was snoozing, using for tethers the white sheet that was supposed to be the snow under the tree.

“It was a lifelong activity for her,” Penn Weldon said of her mother’s penchant for pulling pranks.

In another moment of tomfoolery, young Ms. Weldon dumped the mother superior’s briefcase out a second story window. And, in another moment of creative hi-jinks, she arrived at school with her uniform on backwards, her long hair swept to her front side and a homemade mask affixed to the back of her head. Walking backwards in the school’s hallways, she was discovered pretty quickly.

“Joan, go turn yourself around!” her daughter, Penn Weldon, remembers as the admonishment given to her mother when the story was recounted years later.

Following high school, Ms. Weldon worked as a bank teller on Skid Row in Los Angeles for several years. After marriage, she moved with her husband to Apple Valley where the couple taught water-skiing for a number of years.

“This was a lot of fun for her. It was a good time in life,” Penn Weldon said.

Returning to this area from the high desert, Ms. Weldon first settled in Glendora and then moved to La Verne in 1963. At this time, she became an art aide at Claremont High School, working alongside art teacher Ingrid Petersen and ceramics teacher Connie Layne. This experience set the course for her future, with art emerging as a talent and a passion.

Ms. Weldon began making jewelry and an array of figurines, sculptures and other objects with salt dough, later using the sculpting material “sculpey” as a preferred material. As time went on, her favorite art material became “anything in stages of decay, anything rusty,” said Shelli Weldon.  For a period, she sold her creations at Raku in the Claremont Village, and at other places as well. Art was the foundation for her livelihood for over 40 years and her home was a showcase of her creativity and that of her children’s, all of whom are currently artists.

“She just filled her home with [art],” said Shelli Weldon. “Everything we ever made was on display.”

Following her passion for art and her drive to encourage other artists to create and display their works, Ms. Weldon began volunteering at the dA Center for the Arts in 1984.  She discovered the dA Center after reconnecting with Chris Toovey, founder and president of the agency, who was a student at CHS during the years she worked as an art aide. It should be of no surprise that the former teacher and student sparked a friendship at a tie-dye party held at Ms. Weldon’s home. In 1998, 14 years after beginning as a volunteer, Ms. Weldon became executive director of the dA Center.

At the dA Center, Ms. Weldon was a tireless and generous director. Though paid for only 20 hours a week, it was not uncommon for her to work 40 to 60 instead. And as the only paid employee, she adored and appreciated the many volunteers, including the board members, who contributed their time and energy to the center.

“They were the backbone of the dA, and she loved them,” said Penn Weldon.

Upon becoming ill with cancer, Ms. Weldon continued to provide consultation to the center, despite being unable to actively work on site.

“It took 5 or 6 people to do the job she did,” Penn Weldon said.

“And they were exhausted,” added Shelli Weldon.

According to her daughters, Ms. Weldon had a phenomenal ability to draw people together, helping them to make connections and get along, despite the “egos and prima donnas” in the art world, they said.

“There’s a term, ‘herding cats’‚” said Shelli Weldon. “She herded cats, which is impossible.”

Ms. Weldon was also one of the original Gypsy Sisters, displaying and selling her art with this group of artists for many years.

Active in many other ways in addition to being a prolific artist, Ms. Weldon enjoyed backpacking in the Sierras, an activity she discovered in her 40s with good friends Ronnie Trier and Connie Layne. The 3 women would hoist 70-pound packs on their backs and trek 50 to 70 miles in the mountains on an annual basis.

“These were very deep and very long friendships,” said Penn Weldon.

Ms Weldon also played fast-pitch softball as an adult, a sport at which “she was amazing,” said Shelli Weldon.

Apparently, Ms. Weldon’s tendencies toward klutziness did not interfere with her active sporting life, but it certainly wreaked minor havoc in her day-to-day life. Her daughters recalled the time when she was up on a ladder installing an art exhibit and crashed to the floor after misjudging the rungs. And, the time when a strange two-notched wound appeared on her forehead: when hammering a nail, she pulled the two posterior prongs of the hammer into her own face.

But undeterred by her frequent little injuries, Ms. Weldon was still always the life of the party.

“She was very bubbly, very social,” said Penn Weldon. “She was always the first one on the dance floor and the last one off.”

Ms. Weldon’s liveliness was often a public spectacle, particularly one Halloween when she was in her 50s. Dressed as a fly, she “flew” around downtown Claremont, flinging herself against storefront and restaurant windows, giving shoppers and diners a surprise. During her costumed flight, she even entered a number of restaurants, asking patrons, “Did you order a fly for your soup?”

“She even stuck her finger in someone’s soup and said, ‘There’s a fly in your soup’,” recalled Shelli Weldon.

Life with their mom was absolutely unforgettable, shared Ms. Weldon’s daughters. They remained extremely close over the years, even watching the same television shows at the same time in their separate homes, and calling each other for a quick laugh in the midst. 

“My life with my mom was very intertwined,” shared Shelli Weldon. “We searched for objects together for found art; we worked at the dA together; we went to art sales together; everything. She was my best friend.”

“It’s her encouragement, her heart, that I will miss most,” said Penn Weldon.

Ms. Weldon is survived by her son, Chris Weldon of Arrowhead; by her daughter, Shelli Weldon of Claremont; by her daughter, Penn Weldon, and her partner, Alexia Papagianni of Greece; by her former daughter-in-law, Karin Weldon of Crestline; by her grandchildren, Joshua and Hannah Weldon of Crestline, Hailey Weldon of Arrowhead and Ana Voulgari and Eftychia Papagianni of Greece; by her brother and sister-in-law, Phillip Gosswiller and Pat Killeen of San Diego; by her niece, Kari Peyton of West Hollywood, who, last April, took Ms. Weldon to Greece where her cancer returned from remission and brought upon the illness from which she never recovered; and by many other extended family members.

The Weldon family wishes to thank family and friends living in Greece who helped return Ms. Weldon to the US after she was struck ill there and had to undergo major surgery.

A celebration of Ms. Weldon’s life will take place at 4 p.m. on Saturday, September 29, 2007 at the dA Center for the Arts, 252-D S. Main St., Pomona. The Dale brothers, of Dale Bros. Brewery, will provide food and beer for the celebration. Local musicians have been invited to perform.

The family requests that friends send anecdotes, stories and comments to Ms. Weldon’s daughter at joanweldon1@excite.com. Submissions will be displayed at the celebration.

In the near future, an event featuring local artists and benefiting the dA Center will take place at the center in Pomona. For more information, visit www.dAcenter.org. Additionally, in the display window in the main gallery of the dA Center, from October 10 through the end of November during the duration of the Aztlan Show, a collaborative altar celebrating the life of Ms. Weldon will be on exhibit. On September 23 from 1 to 5 p.m., community members may bring items related to Ms. Weldon to the center to be included on the altar. 

Memorial contributions may be made to the dA Center for the Arts, 252-D S. Main St., Pomona, CA 91766.