The Marvelous Mietzi Bleck (1911-1949): Poet, Veteran, and New Deal Artist

 
Above: "The New Cabin," a linoleum print by Marie "Mietzi" H. Bleck (1911-1949), created while she was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, 1937. Image courtesy of the General Services Administration and the Gibbes Museum of Art.

Marie H. Bleck, or "Mietzi," was born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on May 11, 1911, to Herman and Elizabeth Bleck. In the 1930s, she graduated from both the Oshkosh State Teachers College and the Milwaukee State Teachers College (in the latter, she majored in art). She taught grade school art classes in Mercer, Wisconsin, and then became head of the art department at Oshkosh High School in 1938.

Mietzi's artistic ideas came from the great outdoors: "she makes numerous canoe and camping trips on Wisconsin's lakes and rivers and receives many of her inspirations from their beauty" ("Paintings are Exhibited By Young Mercer Artist," Ironwood Daily Globe (Ironwood, Michigan), August 5, 1939, p. 6). 

Mietzi won a Milwaukee Journal art prize for a painting called, "Log Decks, Mercer," and her artwork, "Ice Job," "was exhibited in the 1939 Corcoran gallery exhibition in Washington, D.C.," (see previously cited newspaper article). She also created several artworks for the WPA's Federal Art Project - see, for example, "Marie H. (Mietzi) Bleck," General Services Administration (but note the incorrect years of her life; she died in 1949, not 1988).

In 1943, Mietzi joined the WAVES, a division of the U.S. Navy, to become an aerographer's mate, where she learned "weather observation, such as the use of meteorological instruments, charts and weather codes" ("Enjoys Being In WAVE Service," The Oshkosh Northwestern, September 30, 1943, p. 8.) After the war, Mietzi moved to Alaska and utilized all her skills: exhibiting her art in Juneau; working for the United States Weather Bureau; and teaching art in Palmer, Alaska.

Above: "Muskie Fishermen," a linoleum print by Marie "Mietzi" H. Bleck (1911-1949), created while she was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, 1937. Image from a Oshkosh Museum Facebook post, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Mietzi Bleck also self-published a book of poems, the inspiration coming from two summers spent on an Apache Indian reservation (among other places), "where she learned to hunt, studied arts and crafts and obtained material for her book of poems, 'Crossed Roads'" (see reference above, "Enjoys Being In WAVE Service"). 

A 1937 newspaper article gave an interesting description of Mietzi's book: "The book of poetry indicates the author's versatility, ranging from nature poems to philosophical themes, and the woodcuts show real artistry. The appearance of the book is attractive, the copies being bound in various kinds of linen and chintzes [multi-colored fabric, created by woodblock printing] and in snakeskin. The hand-torn pages of the interior are of eggshell American text paper" ("Mercer Visitor Composes, Depicts Book Of Poems," Iron County News (Hurley, Wisconsin), August 6, 1937, p. 3).

Mietzi's book, Crossed Roads: A Book of Poems in Words and Wood, is hard to find today (it seems she only published a few dozen of the highly ornamented books). There appears to be a copy at the Library of Congress (see the Worldcat entry here), but I don't see anything available through online book sellers. On the Amazon.com entry for Mietzi's book, it says "Out of Print - Limited Availability," and a single customer / reviewer of the book says, "Looking for other copies to buy. Please contact."

Mietzi Bleck seems to have been bursting with energy. A journalist who met her wrote: "The author of 'Crossed Roads'... [told] me how she composed the poetry, carved the woodblocks, set up the type, and a hundred other things while I stood agog hoping my memory would serve me better than usual" (see reference above, "Mercer Visitor Composes..."). Indeed, Mietzi may have had more energy and enthusiasm than the world could contain. She died in 1949, at the age of 37, after a lengthy illness. She rests at the Riverside Cemetery in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

"Triolet," by Mietzi Bleck, 1937

I shall return

To my north country home

Among hemlock and fern...

I shall return.

Where mountain roads turn

And climb high shall I roam;

But I shall return

To my north country home.

(Other sources of information, not cited above: "Marie Bleck Has One-Man Art Show In Alaska," Iron County Miner, June 21, 1946, p. 2; "Former Teacher Passes," Iron County Miner, May 6, 1949, p. 2; "Miss Marie Bleck," Iron County News, May 6, 1949, p. 4; "Oshkosh Has Most Teacher Graduates," The Capital Times, June 8, 1930, p. 20; "Marie 'Mietzi' Bleck," Find a Grave (with accompanying Milwaukee Journal obituary; accessed December 8, 2020).)