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Sunday, November 1, 2015

www.mihomepaper.com

Linda Jackman helped mold city planning,

bring the arts to downtown Lapeer
BY JEFF HOGAN
80-452-2640
jhogan@mihomepaper.com

LAPEER Linda Jackman likes to

doodle and soon she will have more
time to dabble.
Jackman, 55, retired Friday from the
City of Lapeer where for the last 16
years she worked for the citys planning department. Now she will have
more time and energy to devote to her
family, her husband as well as her artistic talents and interests.
It was the right time in my life to
do something different, said Jackman.
I have so many interests outside of
work. She was a city planner by day,
an artist by night and evenings and
weekends and lunch hours and every
chance I got, she posted on her website.
Jackman was treated to a retirement
party Friday evening at the new Tilted
Axis Brewing Co. in downtown Lapeer.
Very appropriate. In addition to running the citys planning office that was
tasked with the job to draft master
plans as well as guidelines for zoning
as it relates to commercial and business development.
Shes most proud of her contribution to two downtown infrastructure
grant projects that rebuilt Clay and
Court streets, first downtown dumpster enclosures in city parking lots
downtown and the installation of the
first public sculpture.
A koru sculpture titled New Life &
Harmony was installed last summer
as part of the reconstruction of Clay
and Court streets, and is located on
the north side of Court Street the
bridge over the Flint River. The project also includes a rain garden, new
landscaping and two sitting benches.
The spiral shape of the sculpture is
based on an unfurling fern frond. The
circular shape of the koru helps to
convey the idea of perpetual movement
while the inner coil suggests a return
to the point of origin. It symbolizes new
life, growth, strength and peace. Artist
for the project was Vera Peltonen Bean,
owner of Emotions in Motion Art Studio
on Nepessing Street.
Jackman has and will continue to be
active in the Lapeer arts scene that has
been a focal point in the rebirth of the
downtown district.
It wasnt unusual to catch Jackman
drawing and sketching on commission agenda packets during meetings
as she waited to address officials on
a proposed development in town. Her
visual mind was always busy and full
of ideas.
Jackman enjoys experimenting
with various media such as oil paint,
acrylics, ink, and colored pencils; and
working with a variety of subject matter including landscapes, portraits and
abstract designs. She displayed and
sold her artwork last summer during
the Art on Nepessing Street Festival
and travels to regional art shows.
She has been instrumental to the
cultivation of visual and performing
arts in Lapeer. Ever since Gallery 194
opened its doors in October 2005 she
served on its advisory committee and
now serves on the Center for the Arts
of Greater Lapeer board, which oversees both Gallery 194 and the historic
art deco PIX Theatre buildings
owned by the City of Lapeer.

Linda Jackman of Lapeer shows off some of her artwork at a recent

show at Artistic Endeavors Art Gallery in Cass City.

A self portrait of Linda Jackman.

In this piece, Linda Jackman painted the historic Old

Main building on the Wayne State University campus
in mid-town Detroit.

Jackman painted a portrait of her mother.

Theres a lot of good things happening right now in downtown Lapeer.

There are new businesses opening
up and doing well. Its exciting, said
Jackman. When times were really
tough through the recession and things
were bleak all over the place Gallery
194 and the PIX Theatre plugged on
and they helped downtown Lapeer
when not much else was going on,
said Jackman, who along with her husband, Cliff, can be found at just about
all art-related activities downtown.
They were seated at one of the front
tables at the recent Oktoberfest held
on Court Street that featured beer,
German-style sausage and the zany
party music of the Polish Muslims.
As parting gifts to several people
she worked with closely over the years
in city government, Jackman gave her
art to Kim Hodge, Pam Reid and Brent
Bajdek.

TRAVIS GREGORY DILLEN STOUT

Republican for State

Representative, 82nd District
Born 9-29-92
Crossed Over 11-1-11

A Son, A Brother, An Uncle, A Friend

REMEMBER ME
Four years has come and gone.
But your smile, your laughter,
Your face is always with us.
We see your face in the clouds.
We hear your laughter in the wind
And through the rustle of the trees.
We feel your love as we drift off
To sleep.
Until the day we hold you close
On the other side.

WE LOVE YOU
TRAVIE

Your new voice for Lapeer

Work to get to and maintain a higher
level of taxpaying employment.
Work with governors budget and
revenue team to insure there is
fairness of tax application.
Support and communicate on a
routine basis to the constituents of
Lapeer County pending legislative bills
and legislative progress.
My plan is to work in the legislature
like I did in private business, putting
in the time and effort to get solutions
and progress on issues critical to both
the state and Lapeer County.

Paid for by Allan J. Landosky, 760 Mellish Dr., Lapeer, MI 48446

Jackman enjoys experimenting with a variety of subject matter including abstract

designs, landscapes and portraits.

Jackman worked all 16 years with

Hodge, administrative assistant to the
planning department, Dept. of Public
Works and the Downtown Development
Authority. Reid is the citys director of
public works with whom she collaborated with on many projects. Bajdek
had been her assistant and planning
administrator, the job she started
with when she began with the city in
October 1999. He recently accepted a
position with the City of St. Joseph in
southwest Michigan.
Following the departure of
Jackman and Bajdek, the city recently
agreed to pursue a one-year contract
in the amount of $85,000 with Rowe
Professional Services to serve as its
planners.
Married 27 years, Jackman met
her husband, originally from Romeo,
when they worked together at
Anderson, Echstein and Westrick,
Inc., a civil engineering, survey and
architect firm in Shelby, Mich.
He was a surveyor and I was a
draftsman. We had those common
interests, said Jackman. Together
they have four children.
Jackman earned a masters degree
in public administration from Central
Michigan University and a bachelors
degree from Wayne State University
in Detroit where she grew up on
the citys east side near Gratiot and
Seven Mile.
Her first college drafting class
led Jackman to her job at Anderson,
Echstein and Westrick, then she
moved on to work in the mapping
department for nearly nine years with

Macomb County government. She also

served on the planning commission
with the Village of Armada.
In addition to painting and drawing, Jackman has also always been
into needle and fabric crafts which
she attributes to genetics. Her
German-born mother was an accomplished seamstress. Before she was
10 Jackman knew how to sew, crochet
and embroider. This passion evolved
to include jewelry making and quilting.
She custom designed and made her
daughters wedding dress, including
hand-beading details. Her daughter,
Angela Whitlock of Pontiac, like her
mother is also an artist. They had
side-by-side booths at last summers
Art on Nepessing Festival.
Jackman is proud of her early days
with the city, when in 2005 she had
the opportunity to work with Matt
Modrack, then the director of the
planning department, to obtain the
building that is now Gallery 194.
We worked out the design with an
architect team, a management strategy with the city commission and
Downtown Development Authority
and got grant funding from state
for the building renovations, said
Jackman. I was just very fortunate
to be in the right place at the right
time to be a part of such a special
project.
You can be sure you havent heard
the last of Jackman whose vision
and artistic talent will continue to
enhance the quality of life in her
beloved Lapeer.