I had this illusion that I would be able to complete my 3rd Journal entry within the time limits that I have set up for the project, but I was not counting on one thing: I had not expected my theme for this entry - to talk about my one of mentors: Sidewalk Sam - to be so difficult to talk about.
There are a lot of things that I could say about Sidewalk Sam - and all of them are great and inspirational - but the thing that I remember most about my limited time with him was his smile, his humor and the fact that he believed that art was for the people and should be accessible to everyone.
I first met Sidewalk Sam at Rivier College in the very early 1990's. I remember working alongside him and my fellow Rivier Fine Art Society members, making a chalk mural of Eugene Delacroix's "Liberty Leading the People"... OK, it didn't come out as great as the original (pictured below), but it was my 1st experience with chalk drawing and working side-by-side a more experienced artist and I was hooked:
A couple of months later, the Rivier Fine art Society joined Sidewalk Sam on Storrow Drive in Boston, MA to celebrate Earth Day in 1990 (I am in the top row, 4th one from the left, right above Sidewalk Sam). What I will always remember about that day was how surreal it was to be creating chalk drawings on a green painted Storrow Drive with some absolutely incredible artists:
A couple of years later, Stacey (pictured 2nd in the top row) and I joined Sidewalk Sam at an event in Boston where we could create our own chalk drawing... Stacey and I chose to recreate a painting by Gabriele Munter of Marianne von Werefkin and Alexej von Jawlensky... again, not quite as amazing as the original, but still as much fun as the one we worked on with Sidewalk Sam at college:
And then, later on in the 1990's, I ran into Sidewalk Sam at a singles event held on a Friday evening at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Sidewalk Sam and I spent a magical evening talking about art and the art world in general in the museums' courtyard... I was loving every minute and was wishing it would never end.
Even though we only met sporadically throughout a 15 year period, he always remembered who I was... perhaps not always by name - he tended to refer to me as "Mark's girl" (a reference to another art mentor who introduced us), still, Sidewalk Sam was an unforgettable mentor and I don't think I will ever be able to describe how much he influenced my life or inspired me... and I don't think I will stop missing him.
We lost Sidewalk Sam last year - you can see his obituary at: https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/01/27/sidewalk-sam-boston-street-artist-robert-guillemin-created-murals-and-magic-city-walkways/4rjhqwEvn8BbUtMW4VLT7K/story.html
I was lucky enough to have known him before and after the accident that left him in a wheelchair, but that didn't stop him from creating art on a daily basis. Sidewalk Sam's legacy is strong, please check out http://sidewalksam.com/ if you are interested in learning more about Art Street.
I wanted to express something of the serenity that I felt when talking to Sidewalk Sam in Journal Project #3:
I chose The Alarm's song, "The Spirit of '76" because I have always felt nostalgic after listening to it and it reminded me of my college days and the amazing women I shared them with:
 |
| The Journal Project #3 Final |
White Rooster Studios
No comments:
Post a Comment