Clara Deike (b 1881 d 1964)

This artist taught in the Cleveland Public Schools between 1912 and 1945. She was one of the Berlin Heights artists between 1910 and 1920 and is interesting because she went elsewhere as well to study with well-known mentor/teachers such as Hans Hofmann in Italy and Germany and the United States for four summers and Diego Rivera in Mexico. During this time her work changes profoundly to reflect the influence of his cubist perspective. She was noted early for her decorative landscapes, the "best any local woman artist has shown." Critics mentioned her feeling for trees and her ability to paint them.