Patty Cargill

Amazing Grace

PATRICIA CARGILL:AUGUST

Story by PATRICIA CARGILLWASA person like no other. She devoted her life to truth and

Mary beauty. Living for a decade with life-

Gagne threatening illness, she exemplified amazing grace. (Taken from the memorial service program.) Patricia Chickowsky Cargill was an artist who taught us how to live a life of beauty, truth and goodness. As one entered the iron gates of her home, the rustic, natural beauty was a menagerie of patterns and abstractions. Not only did she teach us about art, but more importantly, she taught us about character and nobility. She lived and witnessed her faith in her everyday activities. She would greet me with “God is good!” Her faith reached beyond art.

Patty grew up in Detroit, Michigan. Her parents were from Windsor, Ontario. From an early age, her religion was center in her life. Patty’s interest in art began in elementary school; she later attended Pratt Institute in New York City where she met David Cargill. He remembered clearly the first meeting. They were in class together and the instructor asked all students to stand and introduce themselves. “I spoke in my Southern Texas drawl: My name is David Cargill and I am from Beaumont, Texas.” All the students roared with laughter; all but Patty who came to him at the end of class and offered her kindness. He was immediately smitten.

“Our marriage was not your typical marriage; we were married for 62 years,” he said. “We worked together 24 hours a day and seven days a week. We were inseparable. We had a lifetime of art. I can’t imagine life without her.”

The community is saddened at the loss of a beautiful, spiritual, compassionate lady. She was a courageous person. Patty is also survived by two daughters: Ida Katherine and Chancel, and five grandchildren.

While working on an art project of their life and works, I sat next to her bed and watched her keen eye crop and edit photos.

“The perspective is now clear...you can see the light directly influencing this piece of art; the light enters here,” she would say as she pointed her delicate fingers to the spot, and as she angled her thumb and forefinger to show where the photograph should be cropped.

She spoke of her friend, renowned photographer Keith Carter.

“I remember when he was young he would visit our home...perhaps to enjoy the company and discourse, or simply to visit,” she said.

When I asked Carter of his memories, he replied: “I knew Patty Cargill for 58 years and in all that time she remained unfailingly gracious. Her stunning range of drawings and elegant paintings evolving over six decades provide the richest of legacies for an artist; showing us how life lived can be art, and art itself provides life.”

Her whole life is a testimony to her faith and to the sincerity of her character. Her paintings are immensely descriptive; she conveys the most delicate nuances about character where her presence is seen in the shadows. Her portraits, figure studies and delicate sketches leave a legacy to all.

Her greatest legacy is her kindliness, her honor and her amazing grace. The art community has suffered a great loss.

15,1929-MARCH 4,2012

Patty Cargill, left, and Mary Gagne talk during the opening of “He Said/She Said: They Spoke With One Voice,” an exhibition of figurative work by Patty and her husband David at the Dishman Art Museum, June 3, 2011.

An untitled painting of a little girl, top, is just one example of Patty’s work.

TASI’S DO-IT-YOURSELF ART EXPERIENCE

“DON’TDRAWONTHEWALLS!”

The lure of a blank wall is a temptation for most kids armed with crayons or paint. However, most of the time, expressing one’s creativity in such a manner means going to bed without supper — or worse.

On May 7, The Art Studio, Inc. will allow everyone’s naughty inner child to indulge themselves. Instead of the usual art filled walls, visitors to The Studio for the May show will find only blank walls — and stuff to make marks on them.

“Art is a serious business for us, making art is the most fun a person can have,” Andy Coughlan, TASI tenant, said. “This show is a chance for everyone to come and play.”

Play time is from 7 to 10 p.m. and the resulting “mural” will be on display through May. 26. Like the walls, the title of the show is blank so as not to suggest any preconceived ideas.

“We hosted a workshop show in 2010 called ‘pARTycipation’ that attracted more than 200 would-be artists,” Coughlan said. “So it seemed like time for another variation on that idea.”

Visitors will be supplied with paint, crayons, pens, pencils and other things that can make a mark.

“Not only is it a chance to be creative, but it is also a chance to turn the creative process on its head,” Coughlan said. “Most of the time, making art is a solitary business with the artist toiling away in his or her space alone. But this enables people to chat with each other, work on images together and even add things to existing images.

“There are no rules and no limits — just the way art should be.” Coughlan said that there is also no judging.

“Everyone can scribble something — the urge to doodle is a basic human instinct,” he said. “We don’t want people to think they are ‘not good enough.’ The Studio’s mission has always focused on encouraging people to explore their creativity, to let people know that they can simply enjoy the process.”

In June, The Studio will host “The Alternative Show,” its annual first-come, first-served exhibition.

“This is a great lead-in to that show,” Coughlan said. “Maybe people will enjoy the evening and decide to go home and make some more art. The ‘Alternative Show’ is great place to show what they come up with.”

The Art Studio is located at 720 Franklin in downtown Beaumont.

For information, call 409-838-5393 or visit TASI’s Facebook page.