Donated art now on display at East Dundee’s downtown Depot

MaryKay Harvey shares her love of art through her work on the East Dundee Arts Council. Now, she’s sharing one of her pieces with the community as well.

Harvey was among the artists who participated in Home Planet Earth, a public art show and sculpture trail hosted by Habitat for Humanity of Northern Fox Valley.

The sculpture she painted — a globe she named “Embrace the World with Wise Choices” — was purchased in an auction by her brother and has been donated to the village, which has it on display at The Depot in downtown East Dundee.

“I love that the globe will be there,” Harvey said. “It’s a joy. It truly is.”

Home Planet Earth benefited Habitat’s projects, including the Carpentersville subdivision being built by the nonprofit in the area of Kings Road and Oxford Drive. Artists were invited to create their own design on different prefabricated sculptures, which were later auctioned off to raise money for the agency.

It was such a success that Habitat plans to do another show in 2027.

“It’s a great project,” Harvey said of the fundraiser. “I was just lucky to be able to do it.”

Initially she planned to sponsor an artist, but later decided it would be fun to create her own work.

The design was inspired by her mother, Mary Witsiepe, who always told her to make wise choices, Harvey said.

Witsiepe, a lifelong resident of the Carpentersville, East Dundee and Elgin areas, was a founding member of St. Monica’s Catholic Church in Carpentersville and worked at Barrington High School for 33 years.

Harvey’s brother, Dave, purchased the sculpture for $1,000 at the Habitat auction.

“I really didn’t know that he was going to do it,” Harvey said. “It was shocking actually.”

Her whole family has been supportive of her work, especially her five grandchildren, who range in age from 2 to 15 and watched every step of the way as her sculpture progressed. To have it on display for them to see is a thrill: “If they like it, I’m happy,” she said.

Harvey has always been an artist at heart. While she worked for 42 years for AT&T in marketing and communications, art was her passion, and retirement four years ago has given her more time to pursue it, she said.

She uses a variety of mediums, including chalk, animation, graphic design, painting and sculpture.

Harvey’s also the person behind Tiny Art, Big Impact, an art vending machine at the downtown Eastside Cafe that sells small trading cards featuring art by local artists, and founded the For-Charity Foundation, an organization that combines local art with fundraising.

“All of these things together illustrate how art is really bringing people together,” she said.

Harvey is one of seven members of the East Dundee Arts Council, which she calls “a blast.”

“(Village officials) are so willing to do anything to help the arts be displayed. … I think the art community is growing and artists are happy to share their work.”

The council also sponsors the Black and White Arts show in February and is behind the murals, sculptures and community-wide art projects done around town. This year, they are organizing a theatrical experience to be held on Halloween night for which they are currently seeking performers, actors and volunteers.

If it goes according to plan, the event could become a tradition similar to Dickens in Dundee, Harvey said.

Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The (Elgin) Courier-News.