The art is the point

by Stacie Charbonneau Hess

If not sleep, at least hide. Hide from the world, from the chaos of traffic lights and busy grocery stores. But just as the yellow daffodils and forsythia blossom and winged creatures descend upon our feeders in springtime, I yearn for community as the sun warms and the days extend. I want to seek a little more light. This year, which marks my 50th on planet Earth, I actively seek out experiences that awaken something dormant in me; something lost or perhaps as yet undiscovered. For about a year now I have taken voice lessons. I used to be a musical theater major and let that part of me slide into near extinction the past decade or so.

It’s been exciting to be introduced or reintroduced to classical songs in German, Italian, and French. The cost is low and the time commitment reasonable for these lessons at the Symphony Music Shop in Dartmouth (symphonymusicshop.com). It is only $25 for thirty minutes, though I typically tip, because if anyone is underpaid it’s teachers and artists. What I have received from my year of private instruction rewards me tenfold what I have put in for time and money. My spirit is literally renewed, and I am now part of a community of vocalists.

My teacher, Patrice Teidemann, runs a nonprofit, the “vagabond theatre company” (officially called Seaglass Theatre Company), that presents high-quality shows (even opera) in the South Coast (seaglasstheater. com). Twice now I have been blown away by the performances Seaglass Theatre Company has presented at Gallery X in New Bedford (galleryx.org). Even though I am not on stage singing arias solo, I feel proud of my connection to Patrice and to this community of music lovers. The music is the point.

Brushstrokes and bonding

My daughter Charlotte, now 14, has grown up playing the violin, yet during the pandemic she discovered a new love: the fine arts. She and her sister watercolored, drew, embroidered, sewed, and knitted during those long, homebound days. Though some of that not-so-distant past was scary and unwelcome, this unveiling of my daughter’s creative side has been a gift, albeit a difficult one to give her full attention to with a high schooler’s schedule, commuting, and other demands on her time.

Just like for me and singing, though, I have the sense that Charlotte’s creative side also needs stimulation and nurturing, and not just within the walls of school and home. When I discovered that Alison Wells, of “Alison Wells Fine Art Studio & Gallery” was back teaching art classes to the community, I immediately felt both comforted and energized (alisonwells.com).

I co-taught a class with Alison, a Trinidadian artist, one summer years ago to and I was excited to see what she was up to.

I signed Charlotte and myself up for a “Mixed Media Abstract Landscapes” class, which runs for just three hours, one spring Sunday afternoon. If I can participate in my daughter’s love of art and have the chance to stretch my own creative muscles, I am happy to make this investment (early bird price was $120). In my mind, it’s better than spending the same amount at LuluLemon or on the latest brand of headphones. I hope that Charlotte loves the workshop, but maybe more importantly, that she realizes she can be like Alison and make a living, and a life, from her art if she chooses.

Art mimics life. When you begin to focus on something, you notice it everywhere. Suddenly opportunities to be creative were all around me. While on my way to Peoples Pressed for my fresh-pressed juice fix, I noticed flyers for free classes advertised on the window of the Co-Creative Center in downtown New Bedford ( Fiber & Friends, May 25 at 6:30 p.m.). You can see all their upcoming events at cocreativenb.org.

I found “Plein Air Watercolor Workshops” offered on two separate June days (9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on May 14 and 21) on the Westport Art Group website, westportartgroup. com. Then, last weekend while spending a day at Kilburn Mills at 101 West Rodney French Boulevard in New Bedford, I found the schedule for the “Art and Culture Emporium” where Karen Zukas hosts a dizzying array of classes in everything from “Crepe Paper Crocuses” to “Sock Monkeys: Learn the Fine Art of Monkeying Around.” Clearly this is a place that does not want to intimidate or exclude. The art is the point.

It’s funny – I used to feel that I needed to travel or live in a big city to find quality cultural experiences like art galleries, opera, or classes, but I guess what I have been searching for all along is community. So while I am busy ripping up paper for découpage, felting wool, painting landscapes, or singing an Italian aria, I am really asserting my presence in this place and in this time, however unpolished my art may be. Art is one of the ways I find light in the world, and I am lucky to be part of a community that keeps the candle burning bright.