Hannah Tyler
Katie Whitlock is an artist. The 53-year-old resident of Clintonville, Ohio finds old furniture and covers it with what at first, appears to be a chaotic pattern of dots and colors. Her interesting methods occupy her time and keep her busy. These days she needs to be.
Katie Whitlock is the mother and mother-in-law of two soldiers in the United States Army. Since their deployment to Iraq, Katie Whitlock and her family have struggled to preserve normalcy in their own lives, while creating a supporting and loving home front for their soldiers.
Katie Whitlock’s son, Nathan Whitlock, and son-in-law, Eddie Sedlock, met while students at Ohio State and have since maintained a very special friendship.
Eddie Sedlock and Nathan Whitlock played on the same club rugby team in college. Nathan Whitlock graduated from OSU with a degree in criminology and sociology. Eddie Sedlock graduated in 1999 with a degree in natural resources.
After graduation, Nathan Whitlock worked for the state but decided he needed something a little more active. Thus, he joined the army. Unlike Nathan Whitlock, Eddie Sedlock always knew he wanted to be in the army.
“Nathan is half-hillbilly, half German and always played on the losing football team. He’s defined by his perseverance,” Katie Whitlock said. “Eddie’s just good at whatever he does. He’s a natural leader and athlete.”
While the two do seem very different, she said their backgrounds and upbringings have prepared them for their current roles as leaders in the Army, and have helped them establish a very strong relationship.
Nathan Whitlock is Katie Whitlock’s “33-year-old baby.” He is also a captain in the 25th armored division of the United States Army. Last August he was deployed to Iraq and is scheduled to return in November of this year. Eddie Sedlock’s deployment to Iraq has left another very important person in Katie Whitlock’s life in need of a shoulder on which to lean.
Emily Sedlock is Katie Whitlock’s 31-year-old daughter. She lives in Washington on the Ft. Lewis military base. Eddie Sedlock is an infantry commander and is charge of 200 men. The task has extended to Emily Sedlock, as she also has responsibilities regarding the wives of those men. If any of the soldiers in Eddie Sedlock’s infantry get injured, or die, Emily Sedlock is in charge of informing the women back home. She also has to confront the women if they say or do anything outside of what is permitted according the military’s standards.
“Emily has really risen to the occasion,” Katie Whitlock said. She thrives off righteous confrontation.”
Keeping in touch with her son and daughter has never been something she worries about. Even when they don’t talk, she said she knows that they are in each other’s thoughts and prayers. For her, that is enough.
Katie Whitlock said she is a spiritual person and God has become an essential part of her ability to live a normal life in the midst of fear and worry.
“There comes a time when you know you don’t have any control, and you realize that somebody out there better have,” she said.
Each day she has a private bible study and prayer session, and also leads a group bible study in her home.
She also uses art as a means to escape. Each piece of furniture which can take six to eight months to complete, looks like something one might see in wonderland. Thousands of colorful dots create fantasy-like pictures of flowers and vinery, transforming the surfaces of mundane furniture into works of art.
Katie Whitlock doesn’t sell the furniture; she gives it to people.
“Selling my work turns this into a job,” Katie said. “I do this for me.”
Hannah Tyler can be reached at tyler.94@osu.edu.
