...Last night, I found out my high school art teacher had passed away a couple of weeks ago. I knew it was coming because he had been ill. But it still is a shock and I am still processing it. I had heard that he told his family he was ready, that he lived a great life and he knew he couldn't live forever. But those kind of people are the ones who should get to, you know?
When I signed up for Art my senior year of High School, I knew I was going to be in a class that wasn't that popular. And I was right. Art class was down a long hall by the band hall and theater. I had one other friend in that class. The others were students that were barely getting by in other classes but were wonderfully, talented in Art.
I didn't know what to expect but I was immediately impressed by my teacher's talent and ability to teach. This soon became one of my favorite classes.
Mr. W soon became one of my favorite teachers. You could just tell that he believed in his students. He believed in me. One of my first paintings won an art award. He entered my Christmas card into a contest and I was a runner-up. This is a favorite memory of mine because my dad is the one who drove me to Amarillo. This is one of the few times that it was just my dad and me by ourselves. We joked that the winner was a little boy (7 or 8!) and I was 18!
Because of Mr. W, I knew that I wanted Art to have a place in my life, even after the class was over. At first I even majored in Art, but I soon was discouraged and found another career. But I still think creating is so important to me and I try to find ways to keep it in my life, whether it is in scrapbooking or cooking or crafts. He inspired me to live creatively, to find the beauty in everyday, to teach my kids the importance of making, creating, building, painting. I am who I am today because of many people in my life. Mr. W was one of those people.
The last day of class, he gave the seniors (there were 3 of us) a gift. He had made a screen printing of a tree on a hillside. It was beautiful. I have hung it in every home that I have lived in and today it hangs in my kitchen. It is right next to that painting that I won an award for. This two pieces of art remind me of what I did and what I learned and to keep those things close to me.
Thank you, Mr. W, for changing the way I think. Thank you for being that kind of teacher for me. Thank you for inspiring all who were around you.
You will be missed.
4 comments:
That was beautiful! I never had Mr W, and he was always so quiet outside of class -- I don't even remember ever hearing his voice -- but just reading that made me cry. (You should print that out and send it to his wife -- I'm sure she'd love to read it!)
I should have mentioned this to you a couple of weeks ago when I read it in the Amarillo paper. My parents have one of his paintings still hanging in there home too!
Christy
That was really nice Aimee. I think his wife would appreciate that too.
I always regretted not taking art, and it does sound like I'm the one who missed out.
How precious to have memories of people who have had such an impact on our lives, many of them having no idea.
Thank you!
H
I agree. I think that it would mean a great deal to both Mrs. W and their daughters for you to send that to them. It is a very beautiful tribute.
Mom
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