By Sara Spieth, Eiteljorg Marketing and Communications Intern

Linda Stark, Eiteljorg volunteer

Linda Stark has been a volunteer at the Eiteljorg since the 1990s, and joined the Quest team in 2011. She has had a hand in a myriad of events at the museum, and initially became a volunteer because she thought the museum was new and different. One of her favorite parts of being a Quest volunteer is meeting and interacting with the artists.

1. What are your favorite pieces this year from the 2020 Quest main sale?

Unshakeable by Brenda Murphy; The Still, The Fall, and The Raven Call by Mark Kelso; For Freedom by Dean Mitchell, Prickly Pear by Gerald Balciar; Paint Sisters by Howard Post

2. What interested you in Quest?

Fellow volunteers told me how much they enjoyed the experience every year. An opportunity to be in the company of creative, passionate expression – and the real people who pour themselves into each work – was invitation enough for me.

3. What advice would you give to a first time Quest art-purchaser?

Give your heart allowance to guide your purchases.

Unshakeable By: Brenda Murphy 2020, Graphite pencil and white pastel on toned paper, 17 x 14 in.

4. What is one of your favorite moments from Quest?

It was the first year for me and for my artist, whose spouse attended with him. We were all a little nervous about how things would go in this new environment. The anxiety amped up when not all pieces sold. The wife was distraught, taking her tears to the restroom. She required coaxing, her husband told me the next year, to come out and enjoy dinner. After the Quest evening, I checked in regularly on the artist’s unsold works. By the close of the gallery show, all were going home with buyers. The artist gained fans year after year. I never saw his wife again (too much on-the-scene stress, perhaps.) I remember both of them fondly.

5. What is a fun fact about yourself?

In the early 1980s, I was part of an improv comedy troupe called Pavlov’s Salivation Army. We did live gigs all over Indy (such as, The Hummingbird, Comedy Corners, the Indianapolis Museum of Art), along with an American Cablevision program in half-hour segments.

Later in the ‘80s, I was recorded for a 60 Minutes broadcast as I tutored a young person from Africa who was adopted by an American family on Indy’s west side.