Artist Left Legacy Of Paintings, Optimism Former Director Of Corbin Art Center Dies At 61

To Kary Peters, a good view was more than just an example of natural beauty. From fields of flowers to the open doorway of a country home, nature to Peters was the perfect subject for a painting.

And a love of painting, especially watercolor painting, is part of the legacy that Peters will leave to a number of art students and all Spokane art fans.

But Peters, who died Saturday at age 61, was much more than just an artist to the people who worked with her during her 13 years as director of Corbin Art Center. She was a role model for optimism, and she was a joyful presence to be around.

“She really created a warmth for the students, for the instructors who worked here and for the visiting artists,’ said Lynn Mandyke, Corbin Art Center’s current director.

Peters began teaching at the art center in 1970. She had studied art at Tacoma’s Pacific Lutheran University but had not graduated. Even so, she learned her craft well enough to impress both critics and other artists.

“She was a great painter,” said Spokane watercolor artist Stan Miller. “And she was getting better, too.”

By 1979, Peters had taken over the Corbin Art Center’s directorship. Through 1991, she devoted herself to the center, to her painting and to her friends and family. Not necessarily in that order.

“She put her work in perspective,” Miller said. “I think she always made relationships the most important thing, and her work was always second.”

Yet the art center thrived. From a faculty of eight that taught just 12 classes, the center grew to 30 instructors teaching 150 different courses. Peters brought in the 1991 traveling exhibit of the American Watercolor Society, and she arranged visits by such well-known artists as Carol Orr and Michael Schlicting.

“She was employed only half time through most of her tenure, but she was always working full time,” said Rise Parberry, a fellow teacher and longtime Peters friend. “She hit every garage sale looking for cheap supplies so the center could supply as much as it could. It was really amazing what she put into that center.”

Peters, a member of several art societies including the Spokane Watercolor Society, worked on her own art whenever she could make time. Parberry remembers how hard her friend worked to prepare for a showing at Chase Gallery.

“I asked her, ‘When are you painting for this?”’ Parberry said. “And she said, ‘Well, I paint from 7 to 7:45 every morning.’ She had these little blocks of time carved out. And she filled that gallery with beautiful paintings.”

Peters first moved to Spokane in 1960. After a short stay in Seattle, they moved back so that her husband, Jerry, could take a job with Deaconess Medical Center.

Three years after leaving the art center in 1991, Peters was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Her final years were a struggle with the disease, but she found time to see friends and take in an occasional art show.

Peters is survived by her husband of 38 years, Jerry; a son, Robert; a daughter, Julie; her father, Howard Young; and two grandchildren.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: SERVICE A memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday at Corbin Art Center, 507 W. Seventh. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Spokane, 1325 W. First, Spokane 99204.