Arts Alive San Antonio

By JASMINA WELLINGHOFF, Editor

You work mostly in mixed media compositions that include a variety of objects and sculptural elements. How did you develop an interest in mixed media and why do you find it so compatible with what you want to say?
I tell my students that one of the best things about mixed media is that the possibilities are unlimited, and one of the worst things about mixed media is that the possibilities are unlimited. So, it’s a mixed blessing. If you want to work in mixed media, you have to find your message first and then choose the media… As a mixed media artist, you have to say, “I want to say something about community,” or “I want to say something about women’s work,” or whatever, and then you find the media that fits the theme. For that reason, I think mixed media – including digital production – is the future of art. You don’t have to stick to one genre. I started out as a potter. Mixed media allow one to be unconstrained by genre.

What themes do you explore in your work?
I like to explore secret messages from the past. I look for and find all kinds of shards. I’ll pick up a scrap of somebody’s shopping list on the pavement or I’ll pick up a rock, all these things put together are like clues to somebody’s else life. I like accumulating these shards until I can tell stories with them. Finding myself in a retrospective mood brought on by the isolation, I’ve recently been putting little bits from previous work into new compositions. The most recent one is called “Pilgrim Scrolls.” It’s a mixed media fiber piece, made from my old studio dropcloth with photo transfers of my older ceramic assemblages. I chose images of pieces that I would want to take with me on a journey.

Do you have gallery representation?
I show at Marta Stafford (Fine Art) Gallery in Marble Falls and at the San Antonio Art League & Museum; also, through exhibitions of the Fiber Artists (of San Antonio) and through exhibitions with GAGA (Gentileschi Aegis Gallery Association). Today a lot of art sales are going online, as well.

You teach art classes and I know that you enjoy that part of your work. How has the pandemic affected the classes and workshops?
It’s has actually been a silver lining for me. I have thought for years that I would expand my in-person workshops and reach more people, or people would write and say “I wish I could come to San Antonio to take your class in encaustic (painting).” So, in June, I started learning how to put these workshops online with a platform called Teachable, and now I have over 600 people in my studio school and 12 workshops online. The seclusion of the pandemic gave me the time to learn how to do that stuff.

You recently completed a three-year stint as the president of the San Antonio Art League & Museum, and, it’s generally recognized, that you greatly improved both the organization’s operation and its physical premises. With everything going on in your life, why did you take on that job?
The San Antonio Art League is the oldest art organization in San Antonio. I have been a member since the 70s. When I was first asked, I was almost put off because there was so much work to do. But that was also the reason why I accepted – because there was so much work to do, with the building, with the membership, which had dropped from 1,200 to 112. There was a perception  in the community that the Art League was for “society” people. I wanted to bring inclusivity to the membership and wanted to work with other small art organizations. SAALM is a small organization itself and we are not going to survive unless we collaborate with others. It was a good time to be there because a lot of other art groups were also looking for revitalization.

But the main reason I accepted to be president is because I knew how to build websites and such, since I had just retired from Trinity’s computer science department, and one big thing that SAAL needed was a website. I guess I was the right person at the right time, and I am really proud of what we did.

What’s your favorite museum in the city besides SAALM?
I have to say the Briscoe even though I am not a fan of traditional Western Art. But I love the way the museum is organized and I love the way they do community outreach. And they have had some really clever contemporary shows. So, my choices would be the Briscoe and Ruby City.

As you were developing as an artist, what was the best advice you received about art, or generally, about life?
There is a saying: Trust the Process. It means that as one goes along, one makes decisions one step at the time. If you set your sights on an end result that you are not going to change no matter what, that’s not a good thing. But if you trust the process, set your sight on that result, but be willing to look at side roads, too, and allow the journey itself to lead you to the destination. It means to listen to your best instincts.

Is there anything you would do differently if you could rewrite your life?
Oh boy! I probably wouldn’t do anything differently because I like so much where I am now. Had you asked me this 10 or 20 years ago I might have had a different answer.

You have a lot of friends. What do you value the most in a friend?
I think I value empathy the most. So many people view friends as an audience for themselves. But my favorite friends have empathy, they are genuinely interested in other people, and that’s rare.

What would be the first thing you would want to do after the pandemic is over?
Travel to Santa Fe and Taos and get back to the Southwest which always inspires me.

Have you tried to get the vaccine?
Yes, we are in line for it. One thing I don’t understand are the people who don’t want to be vaccinated. I am married to a biochemist and the science behind this is strong and good and valid. Every time that anybody gets a vaccine, they are protecting themselves, but they are also protecting everybody else.

You have been married three times and your present marriage is a happy one. How would you define the fundamentals of a good union?
Ah… I think trust and respect are the main things. Having the same interests is highly overrated. You can have the same interests but if you don’t have trust and respect for each other, it would be very difficult to get ahead on a mutual goal. My husband Bill and I have been friends for 45 years and have done many projects together. So, over the course of time, we had built a friendship which included mutual goals. We were lucky that, when we got married five years ago, we already had that in place. You can’t start off with just infatuation and expect the relationship to continue on without a lot of work.

If you could have another chance to speak with your departed parents, what would you want to ask or tell them?
I was raised in the South. When my father was away from home with the military, I spent time with my mother and my grandparents in Mississippi and Louisiana in the 40s and early 50s. I would like to ask them why the south was like it was back then. My grandfather would call a grown black man “Boy.” My grandparents weren’t racists; it’s just the way it was. I couldn’t understand why the blacks had to drink from different fountains and sit separately at the movie. I would love to have a conversation with my parents about their growing up in the South. I think it would help me figure out why I feel guilty about these things and maybe help me resolve my feelings.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?
Oh, that’s easy: my teaching! For most of my career I worked with adolescents who were diagnosed as emotionally disturbed, kids who did not fit in regular schools. I taught in the NEISD for 35 years. As I taught more and more, I realized I had a gift for relating to kids who were the outcast and to teach them self-sufficiency through art. (She worked in several schools) In 2000, I was nominated for Texas Teacher of the Year. So, my contribution, the one I am proudest of, was to help kids who could not express themselves verbally to express themselves through art. So many of them still keep in touch with me.