In many ways, Marilyn Shaker is the epitome of an American wife and mother of the mid-20th century. She raised five children with her husband, mostly staying at home to take care of them, while he pursued a career in construction. She credits her faith and family with everything she has.
"My family was not the Brady Bunch. I wasn't, you know, Miss Cookies and Dough," she said. "We were what I would call normal, just average people."
In addition to supporting others, she learned to something to foster her own creativity.
Shaker studied floral design under Bill Hixson, the man known affectionately around Cleveland as "Mr. Christmas." After learning the trade from the man who used to do floral design and Christmas decorations for the White House, Shaker worked for years for Higbees. Then, in the early 1980s, after all her children were nearly grown and out of the house, Shaker started taking classes in painting at Tri-C. The family lived in Parma for decades before moving to North Royalton, also having a residence in Florida. Shaker also took classes at the Lighthouse ArtCenter in Jupiter, Florida, while spending time there.
"I started out worst of the class. And when I... graduated from the class, I took 'Best in Class.' So I don't say that boastfully, but just to say: There's always hope," said Shaker.
Shaker started painting in her spare time and filled the family's North Royalton home with her art. She works exclusively in oil paints, mostly focusing on the floral themes she mastered as a designer for Higbees.
"The beauty of what God created in the flowers and the colors, just the magic. When you think of flowers, if you start to think of the hundreds of different kinds of flowers... there is no limit to what God created," said Shaker.
She also does landscapes and portraits, but her flowers are her signature style.
Kimberly Szpak, one is Shaker's daughters, helps her mother to exhibit and catalogue her art.
"My mom had a spare bedroom upstairs that probably had 200 paintings in it. You couldn't even walk in the room, literally," said Szpak, recounting the recent move from the family's North Royalton home to where Marilyn Shaker lives now, at Vitalia, a senior community.
Another daughter, Pamela Shaker-Maurer, wasn't aware of the extent of her mother's painting pursuits until more recently, because she and her mom didn't speak for 20 years. But after seeing her mother's art collection, the two found their way back together. They don't get into the specifics of what caused the rift.
"The issue that I had with Pam was 100% my fault. And just the fact that she has come back into my life, and she has been so kind and receptive and loving. It's a gift from God," Shaker said.
Since reuniting with her mother, Shaker-Maurer has become Marilyn's most ardent artistic supporter. She has been working to get her mother's name and art out there, cataloging her over-200 paintings, establishing a website and getting her work into shows and galleries. She even travels to work art shows herself.
"I have done a couple of smaller shows. They've been indoor, so it wasn't a big tent thing. But it's been fun because it's been the creative side of me," said Shaker-Maurer.
Thanks to the help of her daughters, Shaker's work now has hung in locations and appeared at shows all over Northeast Ohio. Most recently, her work was featured at the Wembley Club in Chagrin Falls, and is currently featured at the Tame Rabbit Cafe in Chagrin Falls. Her paintings are also on display at the Artisans Corner Gallery in Newbury and the Medina Gem Co. Shaker-Maurer said her dream show is to be accepted in the Boston Mills Art Fest, which is set to return this summer after going on hiatus during the pandemic. Shaker's art will also grace the cover and inside pages of an upcoming issue of The Listening Eye, Kent State University's arts and literature journal.
Since moving to Vitalia, Shaker has less space to paint, but she is re-establishing her studio and has new motivation to continue her art.
"I definitely have slowed down, but I'm finally getting back all the interest and the desire," she said. "My first goal is to paint what I want and then hoping that it's liked."
