GETTYSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, US, August 26, 2019 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The National Parks Arts Foundation and The National Park Service at the Gettysburg National Military Park welcomes Historical Painter David Geister and Writer, Educator, and Performer Patricia Bauer, the co-authors of the children’s book, B is for Battle-Cry. The duo is deeply committed to use all sort of means to story-tell about history in all its forms. The husband and wife storyteller team live and work in Minneapolis, and now at Gettysburg, David is working on location to do a large size canvas depicting a close up of the 1st Minnesota’s heroic charge on July the 2nd, 1863, where the unit suffered a horrific 82% casualty rate but delayed the Confederate Army enough to save the day. This new work is a counter-point & companion piece to Geister’s other work The Charge, which shows a bird’s eye view of the action.

Originally from Prescott, Wisconsin, David is a U.S. Marine Veteran, whose interest in military art and battlefield interpretation is longstanding. During his time of service, he was able to visit the battlefields at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Patricia wrote and researched their popular book about the Civil War and David illustrated it. The collaboration was a dream come true for the two, who met and married while working as costumed interpreters at Historic Fort Snelling. They have performed their interactive reading of the book in dozens of schools, libraries and historic venues. David Geister views himself as a story-teller with a paint brush. His artistic inspirations run the gamut, from N.C. Wyeth and Norman Rockwell to Dean Cornwell and Thomas Hart Benton. His future plans include exploring as many artistic approaches to storytelling as time will allow.

Also originally from Wisconsin, Patricia is an experienced educator who got the bug for interpretive performance as a way to convey the power and drama of history to the public, and has never looked back. After getting a masters degree in a unique multi-disciplinary cultural program at Hamline University, she also started as a seasonal costumed interpreter at Historic Fort Fort Snelling where she and David met. During her time here Patricia plans to do some research of her own and the two experienced interpreters will no doubt regale the public with their own brand of historical presentations. And also David plans to be painting in public as he works on his new painting of the 1st Minnesota.

While at the residency, Pat is finding much inspiration in the physical landscape and buildings of Gettysburg, as the historical local townspeople. She has also been fascinated by the stories of the 1st Minnesota soldiers for quite some time. Serendipity, in addition to these interests, will inform the poems and songs that she writes. Her focus for many years has been children, and her writing will no doubt be accessible to them.

During their residency, the multi-talented couple will be presenting their work to the public, on two successive Sundays, September 1st, and September 8th, from 10 am to 3 pm at the Rotunda at the Museum and Visitors Center, which will involve Pat and Dave reading poetry and making art in the rotunda space. Dave will be working on an oil painting relating to part of the battle, and folks are encouraged to add a brushstroke or two. Pat will be working on poems that people can help create while visiting with us.

Programs like Gettysburg National Military Park’s artist-in-residence series, in which acclaimed artists find inspiration from the beauty and history of our national parks, and share their ideas with park visitors, represent some of the highest aspirations of the National Park Service. The Gettysburg battlefield has a long artistic tradition that includes sketches by Alfred Waud during the fighting in 1863, the iconic photography of Alexander Gardner in the immediate aftermath of battle, over a thousand memorial sculptural treasures, and commemorative works by Gutzon Borglum and many others.

The program is offered thanks to the input and support of the National Park Service and the Gettysburg Foundation whose joint efforts make the park the foremost visitor destination for those interested in the epic history of the American Civil War. Gettysburg National Military Park preserves, protects and interprets for this and future generations the resources associated with the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg, during the American Civil War, the Soldiers' National Cemetery, and their commemorations.

The National Parks Arts Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to the promotion of the National Parks of the U.S. by creating dynamic opportunities for artworks that are based in our natural and historic heritage. This project is supported by the Gettysburg Foundation and other generous benefactors. All NPAF programs are made possible through the philanthropic support of donors ranging from corporate sponsors and small businesses, to art patrons and citizen-lovers of the parks.

John Cargill
National Parks Arts Foundation
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