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Donna Landsman’s life has always involved pheasants and feathers.
On Oct. 6, during a class on making feather art, the 82-year-old shared 60 years of experience as she showed others how a little glue and some feathers can come together as works of art.
Landsman moved to Luverne almost three years ago to be near her husband in the Veterans Home.
During her class (offered through Luverne Community Education) Landsman spoke about living in Rock Rapids, Iowa, and how her father gave her her first gun at age 11.
“I was raised hunting. My dad gave me a 12-gauge for my birthday,” she said.
Hunting pheasants continued to be a favorite activity years later as she and her husband, Boyd, enjoyed evening hunts after a full day of work on their Lennox, South Dakota, farm.
She credits Boyd for her feather art style, since he encouraged her to use the discarded pheasant feathers to make him a hatband.
“I didn’t know what I was doing,” Landsman admitted. “It was all experimental.”
Her experiment resulted in a 3-inch band of pheasant feathers around the crown of Boyd’s cowboy hat. Holding the band together was a medallion made of feathers.
The experiment led to other crafts and a book.
“Feather Art: Making Crafts From All Feathers for Ages 7 to 107” was printed in 2005 when Landsman was diagnosed with breast cancer after they moved to Lake Benton.
“There weren’t any books on feather craft art in the U.S. or the world,” she said.
With only a 35-percent chance to live a year, according to doctors, Landsman rushed to finish her book and published the paperback herself.
Pictures in the book show various crafts from beginning to end including the skinning and preparation of the pelts. Many craft stores refused to carry the book because of the graphic illustrations.
Landsman, however, felt strongly about leaving in the information that had been garnered from years of art demonstrations and habitat preservation conventions.
The book also makes the point that pheasant art is a unique form of expression.
“There are 22 different colors on a pelt,” she said. “Peacocks only have four colors.”
Her husband joined her in making feather art and was her frequent companion on the road.
With years of presentations, Landsman has developed one instruction tip that she used frequently during the Luverne class.
“If you don’t like what you make, you can always start over. You’re only out your time,” she said.
Landsman donated many of her creations to Rock County Pheasants Forever for the banquet on Oct. 6, where she received special recognition.