Richard Dolloff in the Classroom
“Rebel hates the word ‘can’t,’ proves he can,”
Getting to Know Richard Dolloff
By Bob Stratton, The Wichita Eagle, 10/29/92
“Amid the T-shirts and jeans, the bright-colored coordinates and slacks at Derby High School, looms Easy Rider.
“His black leather vest tops off a short-sleeve shirt. Worn jeans bunch around the cuffs, hugging a pair of snakeskin boots. A rebel attitude, indeed, displayed even more so by the wire-rim glasses, a full, graying beard and short ponytail. Pulling in to the Panthers’ parking lot on a black low-rider Harley Davidson only seems natural.
“I’ve got a little bit of rebel in me. Got to. All artists have to have that independence,” said Easy Rider, e.g. Richard Dolloff, with detention to keep him in line. He happens to be a 51-year-old free spirit who runs the school’s art department.
“Dolloff, who was raised in Wichita, likes to break stereotypes.
“Despite his cool look, his laughter greets students in the hallways each morning. “Kids that don’t respond to ‘Good morning,’ I work on them,” he said. “I’m either going to get a smile or a good morning back. It’s my goal.”
“Despite his easygoing manner, Dolloff is a workaholic, getting no more than six hours of sleep a night. “I really push the work ethic, he said. “If I’m going to do something it will be to the best of my ability, and I demand that from my students, too.”
“And despite a birth defect that misshaped his hands and feet, Dolloff has become an award-winning artist and illustrator. “I hate the word ‘can’t.’ I heard it all my life. I set an example that you can. You can do anything you want.”
“Dolloff, who lives in Derby with his wife, Phyllis, was born in Seagraves, Texas. The umbilical cord had wrapped around his limbs, preventing them from developing fully. A thumb and finger on his right hand gave him the ability to hold a paintbrush or sketching pen. It was all he needed.
“My parents didn’t show me any sympathy. They had the wisdom not to do everything for me,” Dolloff said. He has only three fingers on his left hand.
“The doctors said I was ‘one in a million;’ that’s how often something like what happened to me happens. So I consider myself one in a million. In my way of thinking, you are the one with the handicap. I work hard and achieve what I can.”
“Art and Dolloff became partners when he was in grade school. He won the citywide art contests as a fifth- and sixth-grader. “Drawing and painting were always my cup of tea,” he said. “My dad wanted me to go with math. My mom said ‘Art’s it. Go with it,’ and I did.”
“Dolloff (at left) graduated from East High School in 1960 and earned degrees in fine arts and art education at Wichita State University. He has taught at Derby High School since 1967.
The caption on the photo above says, “Richard Dolloff, art department head at Derby High Schools, shows Angela Gaither the brush technique that will ‘tickle’ the surface of the self-portrait she is painting.”
“Over the years, Dolloff’s work, and his students’, has overflowed from the art room into the hallways. Portraits of student achievers, school records and surrealistic murals cover the concrete blocks. The hallway heaters are bright with colors and give art history lessons.
“Dolloff, with three other painters, recently finished designing and painting the gym floors at Wineteer and Pleasantview elementary schools in Derby. Dinosaurs, skeletons, wildlife, color wheels and planets are among the designs.
“The challenge in the gyms was fantastic,” he said. “It was like going out and playing the World Series. All four of us were mentally an
d physically exhausted when we were done. It was a beautiful thing.”
Looking quite conventional in the photo below, Richard accompanied Lee Bacon, ’60 (at right) to the Delta Delta Delta Plantation Ball at WSU. Wichita Eagle and Beacon, May 17, 1961.
Editor’s Note: Many thanks to Barb Hammond for finding the feature article on Richard Dolloff and the photos. She and Jim Banks, ’60, attended the same Tri-Delt dance at WSU.
