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Nine years ago, I took over as executive director of the Cherokee County Arts Council.
Several years earlier, my own fine art gallery in downtown Murphy had been undermined by the plunging economy of 2007-08, but I stayed involved with the arts in various ways, performing and volunteering at John C. Campbell Folk School, joining the Valley River Arts Guild, teaching summer classes for the schools and doing my own watercolors, though most were given away for community fundraisers. These things kept me in touch with the local art community, and I was delighted to accept the role for the Arts Council when it was offered.
There has been lots of growth since the Arts Council began with a small office, a part-time director, and about $20,000 a year in grant funding. Now we have two directors, one for Visual Arts and one for Performing Arts; a beautiful gallery for public exhibits; a large classroom and event hall; an open community of working artists in our building; and grant funding that is now close to $60,000 each year. Nice growth for sure, but the greatest satisfaction I have experienced from leading this organization has been to constantly observe how the arts affect all human beings.
One of my friends in the art community, Sarah Worsham, is constantly trying new ways to express her creative ideas, painting, drawing, making jewelry and always welcoming advice from other artists. The making of beautiful objects surely adds delight to her life, and then in turn her creations add delight to others. By the way, Sarah is a member of the Valley River Arts Guild, and you can find her paintings and jewelry at the Murphy Art Center.
During the recent visit by the N.C. First Lady Kristin Cooper, one of our working studios artists, 12-year-old Stephen Squibb, charmed Mrs. Cooper with his own enthusiasm for his photography. His sense of pride in his creative work is the basis for what will surely be a long-term work ethic.
At a recent Brown Bag Artist Lunch (an informal gathering of folks who do their individual creative projects together), I asked one of the attendees if his current experimenting with acrylic paintings was, in his mind, connected to the metal fabrication work he did as a profession.
“No,” he replied. “I want to get as far away from that work as I can. It was all so structured. This painting is free and open to whatever comes to mind.”
Maybe for you art can free you to express yourself in creative ways, or provide you with delight in your day, or give you a sense of pride that drives you to do your best.
In this job people often tell me, “No, I don’t make art.” Then I learn that they knit or sew, that they helped create a cookbook for their club, that they sing in the church choir, and so on.
One of the reasons it is easy to overlook the effect of the arts on everyone’s life is because that effect is everywhere, and our minds take it for granted.
Have you written a shopping list for yourself? The pen you used started as an artist’s design. Did you drive to the store with your list? Your car started as someone’s drawing. Did you walk through the store? Your shoes started out as a sketch on someone’s work paper. Did you spot your favorite cereal by the picture on the box? Did you listen to a song on your car radio as you drove home?
Just like every handmade work of art or craft you admire, every mass-produced object you encounter was initiated by someone’s creative making. Because art is an essential part of life.
David Vowell is director of Visual and Literary Arts with the Cherokee County Arts Council.