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OSCAR
CELEBRATES 20 YEARS!
Click here for
press release
Oscar C. Donahue, III
was born November 25, 1955 in Kansas City, MO. Strong family bonds and an abundance
of love made Oscar feel as if he were a prince, despite growing up in the inner city with
minimal resources. One of his most powerful recollections in childhood was demanding
a clarinet in the third grade and somehow his mother came up with one so he could play in
the band.
Oscar first discovered his artistic
aptitude at age 5, when his first drawing of a dolphin drew oohs and
ahhs.
Throughout his childhood, he drew sketches and enjoyed his gift, always dreaming of
sending off pictures to the Art Institute in Chicago that was advertised in the back of
comics. Oscar also discovered his gift of communication, which both came naturally
and from watching his father teach in Sunday school using powerful words and an eloquence
that was mesmerizing. Upon entering high school, Oscar played in the band and
decided during his freshman year that he was going to
become senior class president; he began
a 4 year campaign that resulted in his dream coming true. He also began
volunteering for the March of Dimes and became the anchorman for a closed circuit
television student news program that brought him many honors. Although his artistic
passion took a backseat, he continued to draw sketches and fell in love with
Dali,
Picasso, and Gaugain.
A scholarship to Baker University in
Kansas and then a transfer to Washington University in St. Louis introduced Oscar to the
theatre where he starred in several college plays while becoming a national youth
spokesman for the March of Dimes, traveling through out the country speaking to various
youth groups. Oscar was headed towards law school and becoming a corporate lawyer
until he spoke with a few corporate lawyers who told him they made lots of money but were
unhappy. Upon graduation from college, Oscar began working for the March of Dimes
and was promoted to the national staff in White Plains, New York, where he stayed for four
years, living in Harlem and riding the train to work each day, secretly drawing sketches
of passengers and maintaining that inner fire. Also, a role as the Tin Man in an off
off Broadway play in the "Wiz" and singing in nightclubs gave Oscar the complete
artistic fulfillment he craved.
 Needing to change, Oscar moved to New
Orleans in 1984 where he worked with the United Negro College Fund; he then began teaching
and, for "therapy", worked weekends in the French Market drawing
portraits. Five years later, married with two stepsons and his child on the way,
Oscar looked to find a way to increase his income and decided to make jewelry.
Oscar's Originals was founded in 1989 shortly before his daughter Liana was born, and
began slowly, almost collapsing in the first year...but it survived,
mostly due to sheer desperation from not wanting to work for anyone else and fearing his
most haunting quote he learned in college, "most men lead lives of quiet
desperation".
Oscar's Originals survived and has
grown into something special ... in addition to being a fixture at the Flea market, Oscar
has been a regular exhibitor at the Jazz and Heritage Foundation since 1991 and at the
Essence Fest since 1996. People throughout the world now enjoy his whimsical,
colorful creations!
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