IN Monroeville Spring 2014 | Page 33

“I am delighted to be one of 10 caricature artists invited every year to work at the Three Rivers Arts Festival.” grade, I painted an 8-foot plaque to represent the Monroeville Junior High Braves football team. I was thrilled when the Times Express printed the story in 1971. [The plaque] hung on the gym wall for many years!” Sauer’s parents Joel and Jane Elcan encouraged her love of art. “When I was 10 years old, I was delighted to be invited to attend the Tam O’Shanter art classes held at Carnegie Music Hall. Every Saturday morning for many years, my dad would drop me off in Oakland, travel to his office in Swissvale to work on his projects, and then pick me up around noon for the trip home to Monroeville.” After earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in graphic design and a minor in Metalry (jewelry) at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Sauer’s talents led her into interesting career paths. She worked for Kay Jewelers and Bailey Banks and Biddle. She also worked at The Collection as a jeweler for Ron McNish in Shadyside. A former high school friend gave Sauers information about a job designing Yellow Page ads for Bell Atlantic. After nine years of working for Bell, she formed her own company, Elcan Studio Graphics, to honor her family name. It wasn’t long before she located several companies who needed a freelance graphic artist. “One of them was Baccarach, located in Pittsburgh where I designed pages for a car racing resource directory,” notes Sauers. She soon found work with an ad agency designing logos and advertisements. In 1999, she was hired to paint watercolor pictures of winter scenes at Latrobe Country Club and which were later reproduced for 12 years as invitations for the club’s annual Christmas party. Sauer’s first caricature job was at McDonald’s for their fun Sundays. “I was doing artwork in the middle of McDonald’s and getting paid for it. I couldn’t believe it!” she says. Some assignments were a little more unusual. She was hired to draw caricatures with Christian Dior makeup for many Dior party events. Although she had no experience as a balloon artist, an agency quickly hired her to twist balloons into familiar shapes. The agency gave her a video to watch, and sent her out to a party to learn on the job! It turns out the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Sauer learned as an adu