I had a crazy, old aunt.
Unlike in the movies, my aunt wasn’t a cheek-pinching,
gushing, “come kiss your dear auntie” type. She was a flowing kaftan-wearing,
long cigarette-smoking, red lipstick and nail polish type. She wore her dark
hair wrapped in a loose bun at the back of her head and always had
something - chopsticks, paintbrushes, a
conductor’s wand – poking through the messy knot of hair. She sat with her legs
apart, elbows on her knees and laughed a manly laugh, loud, uninhibited, with
her head thrown back. Her conversations were rich with things exotic to young
girls, things like European culture, the newest ballerina from Romania, and her
friendship with the Kennedys.
She was bold, beautiful and, still to this day, the most
eccentric person I’ve ever met in my life. She was an artist.
My aunt loved all things creative. As the pianist for the
Milwaukee Ballet, her days were filled with classical music, orchestras, and
graceful, long-limbed dancers rehearsing for the evening’s performance. Her
nights, when not at the ballet, were spent in front of an easel covering canvas
after canvas in oils until the dabs and strokes and swirls of color resembled
the extravagant visions in her head.
Out of all her nieces and nephews, I was her favorite. As a
pre-schooler, I felt special to have her attention. I was the little girl
wearing new tights sitting alone in the velvet-covered chair right above the
orchestra pit so she could keep her eye on me while she played for the ballet.
I was the girl she lifted in her arms to touch the frame of one of her many
paintings as they hung in the grand halls of the PAC. I splashed around in kiddie
pools with Yuri and Peter and Romney, world-renowned dancers invited over to
meet her “little Susie.”
As a school girl, I was aggravated to be her favorite. She
singled me out for lessons in oil painting and piano when all I wanted to do at
the time was learn the latest dance moves and see the current movies so I could
fit in better with my classmates. She pushed my parents to enroll me in ballet
class when other kids my age were learning to break dance.
As a teenager, I was embarrassed to be her favorite. Why did
she buy me a portfolio of all the classical works of art or a book of poetry when
all I wanted was a boom box? Why did she get me strange jewelry from Russia
when all the other girls were wearing sets of multi-colored rubber bracelets?
Why did she have to listen to opera with her car windows wide open so the whole
neighborhood could hear how strange she was?
Now as an adult, I realize how blessed I was to be her
favorite. Although the lessons in oil painting and piano didn’t stick, a love
of the arts took root and matured throughout the years. I learned to appreciate all forms of art, from the
whimsical to the macabre, from the surreal to the painfully real. I don’t
necessarily like each piece I experience, but each one forces me to think, to feel, to form my own opinions.
Why do I like this sculpture, or why don’t I like it?
What is the artist
saying through this dance?
What is this oil painting saying to me?
Do I think the artist took this photograph from a place of
joy, or anger, or sorrow?
Is the artist's use of color or texture or space or form pleasing to
me?
Creating art is a revealing form of expression. Bits of the
artist, hidden bits, come out in the making. Appreciating art is a journey of
discovery – of God, of Creation, of others, of self.
This semester, I was
excited to hear that our volunteers, Steve & Sandy Jensen, offered an Art
Appreciation class to our college students. What a beautiful way for these young people to
learn more about their Creator, more about the people around them, and more
about themselves as they seek to live a life of independence!
I was planning to write a blog based on some facts Steve told
me about the class and the field trip, but his email was so well-written, and so clearly showed his heart, that I decided to use it
in its entirety.
"Initially,
after being approved as volunteers, Sandy and I were assigned as tutors in
study hall. We developed a few one on
one relationships with students, while we only had brief encounters with
several others. When study hall and
homework expectations were re-conceptualized, we prayerfully considered how we
could best serve the students and the college.
While
college for us is a distance past, we still remember how much choir and the
arts not only supplemented our education, but also gave us an outlet that
balanced out the academic courses. There
is something refreshing about ending your school day with an elective that also
allows you to be expressive. We
approached the college about the possibility of offering a choir once a
week. This was met with much support and
enthusiasm for the second semester of 2011-2012 and through the entire current
year.
When
the fall semester of 2012 began, I came to the realization that there may be
students who are not musically inclined who might be interested rather in the visual
arts. I approached the staff at the
college, and it was mutually decided to offer a field trip to the Milwaukee Art
Museum during the fall semester. This
was met with good response, and the trip was well received.
It was decided
at that time to pursue the possibilities of a second trip in the Spring 2013
semester, this time to the Chicago Art Museum.
Recalling the benefit of Art Appreciation classes in high school and
college, I felt it would enhance the experience to offer an Art Appreciation
course that would be a pre-requisite for the field trip to Chicago.
Nine
students signed up initially with eight finishing the course. The classes met once a month on Sunday
evenings and were well attended. The
introduction included reflecting on our Lord God Creator as the ultimate
Artist, demonstrated in everything He created for our blessing and pleasure.
The
students had various previous exposures to Art, but all were enthusiastic about
their particular passions and preferences.
Through the use of video and the internet, we attempted to give the
students a broad exposure as to what is considered Art. Once this was established, we focused on a
few of the most popular genres, most notably Ancient, Classical, Renaissance,
Impressionism, and Modern. Specific
artists that were most notable in their contribution to the evolving concepts
of art and artists that are heavily represented in the Chicago Art Museum were
also targeted to be presented in more detail.
Needless to say, each class hour went quickly, but as time went by a
growing appreciation of God-given creative abilities and talent occurred in the
hearts and minds of the students.
The
semester culminated in the Chicago Field Trip on Memorial Day, 2013. Six students were able to attend, and we were
so proud of each one, not only in their mature behavior in everything from
purchasing their own admission tickets to compromising on which exhibits would
be a priority, but also in their recall of artists and genres and techniques.
After
a smooth and safe trip to Chicago in the school van driven by the Dean of Shepherds College, Angela Houk, the day started with a walking tour of Millennium
Park.
Then the students waited patiently
in line for about 20 minutes just to be admitted to the building.
Then
began the Art tour which included, but was not limited to, paperweights,
miniatures, photography, mosaics, statuary, Asian, Greek, Roman, architecture,
furniture design, textiles, as well as the anticipated genres listed earlier.
The students even learned that the huge outdoor amphitheater in Millennium Park
has to be considered a work of art as it is too tall a building to be otherwise
allowed in the park.
Enthusiasm
ran high despite sore feet and tired bodies, and the students opted to go one
more hour to make sure we saw the American Wing which included Grant Wood's
American Gothic.
The trip was capped off
with a drive by Buckingham Fountain and Grant Park and an early supper at the
two-storied McDonald's in downtown Chicago.
Memorial Day proved to be a perfect day to travel as traffic was light
and before we knew it, we were safely home, having been enriched and awed by
the creative abilities of so many."
