Folk Art Prints of Dorothy Kalbach (1910-1996)
Dorothy Elaine Kalbach was born to Irvin Kalbach and Bessie M. Moyer on October 6th, 1910 in Mount Penn, Berks, Pennsylvania. Kalbach had grown as a passionate young girl, invested in the arts and attended Kutztown State College to follow her aspirations of becoming an art teacher. She began to both teach and supervise at Wilson High School in 1930, where she taught in the basement of the school. Unfortunately for Kalbach, her doctors had diagnosed her with arthritis of the spine, forcing her to retire just 14 years after her employment. After retirement, she had invested herself with sketching portraits of the local Pennsylvania Dutch community, finding a deep interest in folklore.
After some time, Kalbach began to take interest in the printmaking process, as her father Irvin had owned a printmaking shop at 422 Court St. Her father taught her to use the hand-fed letter press to produce placemats. For around 35 years, Kalbach would go on to produce an abundance of her own creative works including greeting cards, fans, handkerchiefs, table runners, napkins, and more. Kalbach often works with woodblock printing, using a four color process. She would even go on to install a printing press in her own basement, moving the family business from out of town into the countryside for full time artistry. Dorothy was among the earliest members to organize the Reading-Berks Chapter of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen, and was invited by fellow guild member Olive Zehner to participate for many years at the Kutztown Folk Festival. Dorothy Kalbach passed away June 11th, 1996 in her home in North Heidelberg Township. Dorothy’s work is carried on today by her niece Elaine Vardjan, and Elaine’s son Matt Vardjan through the family businesss “Pennsylvania German Folk Art Papers.”
This online exhibition was created by Andie Kovacs (’26).