Whippoorwill Dreams

Gerald Kurten, the current president of the San Marcos Art League, has a background that feels distinctly San Marcos. He is both an aquatic biologist and a fused glass artist, a researcher and an active volunteer in the community. He had a career with Texas Parks & Wildlife that spanned three decades and four Texas cities, but it was bookend by jobs at the A. E. Wood Fish Hatchery right here in San Marcos.

“It was a fantastic job,” Kurten said. “I did a lot of research and published a lot of papers while I worked for Parks & Wildlife. At the time, Texas Parks & Wildlife had a really great relationship with the university. Everybody that graduated around the time that I did ended up with jobs for Parks & Wildlife or some private conservation or ecological agency. I worked with most of those people my whole career.”

Kurten graduated from Texas State — back when it was still Southwest Texas State — with a masters in aquatic biology, a degree which opened opportunities for jobs at Texas Parks & Wildlife in Athens, Jasper and Mineral Wells, overseeing populations of hybrid striped bass and channel catfish, or working on issues like golden algae and zebra mussels.

“Then my wife got sick,” Kurten said. “She had ALS, and that was a really trying time. We sold our house in Mineral Wells and came back here.”

After his wife’s diagnosis, Kurten retired but returned as a consultant at A. E. Wood as the director of analytical services, in the genetics and research department. In the meantime, he set his sights on the seven-acre patch of land he owns off Lime Kiln Road.

After his wife passed away, Kurten took a brief six-month research project with Parks & Wildlife.

“But when that was over, I thought, well what do I do now?” Kurten said.

Kurten had already had experience making stained glass, which then moved into making fused glass in the kiln located on his property.

“I gave all my relatives glass and filled up all my windows,” Kurten said. “So I thought, ‘If I’m going to do this, I’ve got to sell some of it.”

His twin brother Darrell’s wife introduced Kurten to Kathryn Welch, then the president of the San Marcos Art League.

“I got involved here at the gallery, showing my work and selling a few things,” Kurten said. “Then I started doing Art Squared. I remember I did a market where I sold $1,200 worth of stuff. Kathryn Welch suckered me into becoming the president of the art league,” he laughed, “and I guess I’ve been doing that now for about two and a half years.”

As it turns out, Kurten’s background in research and grant writing has been an excellent fit for the San Marcos Art League in that he has a special set of skills to help find funding for the gallery.

“Writing the grants… I probably spend 40 hours a week doing this. It’s nice to be in that position to give back,” Kurten said. “Managing the Art League is a challenge, selling enough to keep this place going. Sometimes it does keep me up at night, worrying about whether I said the right thing to the right person in order to get our funding, I just signed up for another two years. It’s really, really nice to be involved in the community and meet all of the artists that I’ve met.”

Kurten and members of the San Marcos Art League work out of the San Marcos Art Center, located at 117 N. Guadalupe St., Ste. 101. The Art Center features the work of a variety of local artists — everything from traditional painters and sculptors, textile artists, glass workers and upcycling artists. Every member of the San Marcos Art League participates in its operation by working at the gallery one day a month, which means that visitors get a different experience each time they visit the gallery.

“You get a different perspective from different people,” Kurten said. “We have some artists who come and work while they’re here. It’s really nice to come see the artists and get their stories.”

Kurten said the same is true for the Art Squared markets, which are held on the Hays County Historic Courthouse lawn every second Saturday of the month, except for January and February. “If you spend any time out there, you can meet some interesting people,” Kurten said. “It makes for a great Saturday: Come down here and do a little shopping, then go out to eat at one of the local businesses.”

As a member of the San Marcos community, Kurten has high hopes for fellow artists in the future, especially as the town continues to grow and attract more visitors each year. Kurten’s vision includes making San Marcos an art destination for tourists. This was part of the overall plan for cooperative exhibits of the late Bill Hutson’s work throughout the last year. That year-long, city-wide exhibit involved galleries around town, including Texas State University, the San Marcos Public Library, the Walkers’ Gallery, the Price Center and the Calaboose Museum.

“And we’re doing another one,” Kurten said. “We’re bringing in an artist from San Antonio: Roberto Rios. We’re going to exhibit at the Price Center, here [at the Art Center], at the university and the library. We’re going to do bus tours around town, and sell it to make San Marcos a destination.”

With the Rios exhibit, Kurten also envisions a broadening of the cultural scope within the town.

“We’re reaching out to the Hispanic community, because the art gallery and the marketing are typically dominated by old white people like me,” Kurten said. “This is an opportunity to reach out to that community. It’s really exciting.”

As Kurten continues to work both as an administrator and an artist within the San Marcos art community, he expressed his gratitude for his ability to use his skills and talents to give back to the community. In fact, Kurten said he feels fortunate to be alive in the first place.

As a twin, Kurten was a surprise baby because he had a heart murmur that covered up his brother’s heartbeat during pregnancy. This heart condition led him to have some health risks as a young adult.

“I had my first heart surgery at 19 where they went in and cut the leaflets of my heart. Then about 25 years ago, while I was working in Jasper, I had the valve replaced,” Kurten said. “So I’m lucky to be here. I always keep that in mind.”

To see Kurten’s fused glass work, and a number of other local artists’ artworks as well, visit the San Marcos Art Center Wednesdays through Fridays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The San Marcos Art Center features art from local artists that make unique and personal holiday gifts. For more information, visit the center’s website at sanmarcosartcenter. com. For more about Gerald Kurten’s artwork, visit his Facebook page at facebook.com/Whippor-WillDreams.