Women of Ohio

This week, we make space for Sylvia Liszka Durell to talk about a woman from Ohio she admires: the button artist, Frieda Warther. Some years ago, Sylvia Liszka Durell took up the hobby of button collecting which led her to create artwork using buttons. She is a member of the National Button Society, The World Button Association and local and state button groups. She frequently presents on the history of buttons and lives in Columbus, OH. Here is her discussion of why Frieda Warther is worth remembering.

Frieda Warther was a button artist whose medium was many of the thousands of buttons in her collection. She artistically showcased her collection by mounting the buttons on large panels in intricate designs. Many of the designs resemble quilt and mandala patterns. Ultimately, she sewed more than 73,000 unique buttons on her button art panels arranging the buttons by color, shape, and size. The panels cover the walls and ceiling of her “Button House” which is just outside the Warther family home on the Warther Museum property in Dover, OH.

Ms. Warther’s collection features buttons made of a variety of materials, including: Goodyear rubber, ceramic, glass buttons, calicos, brass, paste, Bakelite and celluloid and Colt plastic and shell. One of her most prized buttons, which can be seen at the museum, is from the gown of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, which she wore during the Second Inauguration of President Lincoln.

Frieda Warther was born in 1890 and moved from Switzerland to Dover, OH when she was four-years old. Frieda Warther’s husband, whom she married in 1910, was the brilliant wood carver, Ernest “Mooney” Warther. The Warther Museum features numerous carvings of trains including his masterpiece, The Great Northern Locomotive. On the museum grounds, visitors can also see Ms. Warther’s beautiful Swiss-styled flower beds. Some of her original plants are still growing there. 

Many current button lovers create button art and crafts. More than 80,000 of them are members of the Button Art Central group on Facebook. The National Button Society and state button societies host annual judged button competitions for their members. Participants submit 9 x 12 cards that feature buttons in their collection that illustrate a particular competition theme. Both NBS and the World Button Association offer Creative Challenges annually for button artists, as well.