Julie Sue (Marks) Blackstone

Julie Sue Marks Blackstone, 1955 — 2022

Julie Sue Marks Blackstone, the third of four children born to Dr. John W. Marks and Leta Joyce (Rice) Marks, was born October 6, 1955, in Beaver, Oklahoma. She died September 17, 2022, from glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer.  After undergoing surgery, radiation and chemo to extend her life while she set her affairs in order, Julie decided it was time to recalibrate her time with us. She deeply appreciated the stream of family and friends who provided loving companionship, rides, meals, and other assistance during and after her treatment.

Julie was a generous and empathetic person, always willing to help others. She had many close friends from every era of her life, and they were true to her until her death, as she was to them. She also maintained affectionate familial ties with siblings Steve, Jana, and David, as well as with our many beloved aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, and cousins.
Julie spent her first 15 years in the small Oklahoma panhandle community of Beaver before her family relocated in 1971 to Blackwell, OK. She maintained fond long-term friendships with many people in both towns.

As a child, Julie loved to draw. At home, she spent many hours at the kitchen table drawing on any tablet or scrap of paper she could find. As a teenager, she was well-known locally for her artistic ability and even illustrated a book about the history of Beaver County. She studied with the renowned artist Gene Dougherty during her junior college years at Northern Oklahoma College. He mentored her, and with his guidance, she developed a high level of expertise in water color painting.

When Julie was a graduate student, she met and married Dr. Harlan Blackstone. Their children, Rachael and Evan, arrived a few years later. Julie adored them and nurtured them throughout her life, as a single mother for most of those years. Rachael has been Julie’s devoted caregiver during the past 9 months. Evan has stayed in constant communication with Julie by phone and text from his home in Washington, and he was able to visit and assist with her care recently.

Julie graduated from Blackwell High School and completed her B.A. in commercial art at Central State University (now UCO) in Edmond. She continued her studies at CSU and earned an M.Ed.
While at CSU, Julie worked as an intern to Babetta Fredericks, a freelance artist in Oklahoma City. She and older siblings Steve and Jana traveled to Europe for a summer study tour in 1975, and Julie had her first opportunity to explore the Louvre and other great museums.

Upon graduation, she worked as an artist/lead designer at Glasshaus Stained Glass Studio in Oklahoma City. In 1979, she became an adjunct professor of art at South Oklahoma City Junior College.

In the years before she became a full-time OBU faculty member, she helped run the ceramics lab, sold artwork in galleries and taught private lessons. Julie joined the OBU faculty full-time in 1997, but her connections to the University go back much further. Her paternal grandparents graduated in the 1920s and her father in 1950. Numerous other family members are alumni.

In 2009, OBU promoted Julie to Assistant Professor of Art. In 2017, Julie received The Provost’s Award of Excellence. In 2019, Julie received the highest honor for OBU Faculty members, the Distinguished Teaching Award. Nominations for the award are made by alumni, current students, faculty and administration.

In Julie’s own words: “I'm quite serious about teaching art, and feel that it's not merely a job, but a calling. Though I realize accepted wisdom is to concentrate on one medium, my job requires that I work and teach in several. Teacher burn-out isn't a problem when one has the opportunity to switch mediums every day. How many people get paid to do what they love?”

At OBU she primarily taught high craft: ceramics, fibers, and stained glass, with color theory and the occasional figure drawing class thrown in for a change of pace. She also taught design basics, calligraphy, painting, and watercolor. She enjoyed teaching students sculpture drawing during between-semester terms in New York City during which they observed and studied some of the city’s famed museums and architecture, and experienced its culture, which ranged from observations of the homeless warming themselves in St. Patrick’s Cathedral to a Broadway play.

Julie was often referred to as a mentor and influence by her students who went onto success in their own careers. "You get to know your students well in studio art classes," Julie told Doug Hill, a reporter for The Norman (OK) Transcript. "There's opportunities to get on a personal level with them. … You just fall in love with them. I cry at graduation not because I'm proud of them but because I'm going to miss them. It's selfish. Of course, I'm proud of them, too." Julie taught at OBU up until the day her life was suddenly altered by seizures in the early hours of the morning in December 2021. Although she loved teaching, she had been looking forward to full retirement and more time to devote to her own art.

Perhaps best known for her textile/fiber art, Julie’s "Knotty Girl” works were created using a French Knot embroidery technique with embellishments. When asked by a reporter about one of her early pieces, she indicated it consisted of thousands upon thousands of French knots and it took her almost 60 hours to complete the work.

Many of the Knotty Girl portraits are derived from history or literature, depicting women who were considered “naughty” or unconventional. The women she has portrayed ranged from Medusa and the Black Widow to actress Pam Grier/Foxy Brown and musician Amy Winehouse. Another series includes men and utilizes art history facts, sometimes mashing one master's style with another's use of color. One of her most notable portraits, "If Kehinde Worked in Thread,” was a portrait of young John Lewis, the former U.S. Representative and civil rights activist, with references to the work of Kehinde Wiley, a contemporary African-American portrait artist known for his highly naturalistic paintings, and also William Morris, a 19th century British textile designer.

In her interview with reporter Hill, Julie said, ”I think here at Oklahoma Baptist University we have the only traditional weaving with looms program left in the state. I've always thought of myself as a weaver but I've gotten a lot more award money and notoriety from doing these wacky embroidered pieces.” She actually loved doing that “wacky embroidery.”

Julie’s work has been featured in numerous juried shows, winning awards on both a regional and national level, including Fiberworks and Handweavers Guild of America (Award for Excellence twice). In 2021, Julie was part of a three-woman show at Gaylord-Pickens Oklahoma Hall of Fame.

Julie was a member of the Fiber Artists of Oklahoma; the Handweavers Guild of America; and the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition. Her artwork was accepted in the juried regional show, Fiberworks, every year since 1994, in which she received multiple awards along with four Best of Show in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2022. Her artwork also appeared in the juried invitational OVAC 12X12 show in 1994-2004, 2014-2019, and 2021.

In addition, her artwork has been on display in more than 20 public galleries and museums, including the Oklahoma State Capitol; the National Cowboy Hall of Fame/Western Heritage Museum and IAO Galleries, Oklahoma City; Houston Center for Contemporary Craft; Living Arts Gallery in the Brady Arts District and Hardest Arts Center, Tulsa; galleries in Florida, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Texas and South Carolina. Because of her years at OBU in Shawnee, Julie’s artwork has also been widely displayed in the community, notably at the Mabee- Gerrer Museum of Art, where she often exhibited and did workshops, and with her work on the city’s Horse in the City project. OBU faculty, staff and alumni own many of her works. Julie always considered their purchases “a great honor.”

Julie was a lover of all the fine arts, and had a deep appreciation of those who excelled in writing and music. She published several books on Amazon under the pseudonyms of Marty Russell (mystery/drama), R.L. Evans (historical fiction) and Jules Marks (medieval fantasy).

In Shawnee, she was active in Saint Paul’s United Methodist Church for many years. She later was confirmed at Emmanuel Episcopal, where she was a member of Chancel Choir, cantered, and worked with Bible school.

Julie also was a member of environmental and wildlife protection organizations, including The Sierra Club, Environmental Defense Fund, World Wildlife Organization, The National Wildlife Organization and The Nature Conservancy.

Julie was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by two children: Rachael Blackstone Fawcett (Tanner) of Prague, and son Evan Blackstone of Spokane, WA; grandchildren Waylon Fawcett and Tanner Ann Fawcett; brother Steven W. Marks (Margaret); sister Jana Marks Lamb (Rod); brother David Marks (Jane); “forever sister” Mary Marks Jenkins; stepmom Pat White Marks; and a large extended family.

Memorial donations can be made to Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Shawnee, OK, or to the environmental or charitable cause of your choice.

A memorial service will be held at Emmanuel Episcopal Church at 2:oo PM on Saturday, September 24. A reception will follow the service.

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