Inspired to Create
By William Reardon ’ 99
When asked to write a short piece on my time at Saint David ’ s , it became clear that what has stayed with me all these years are a series of inspiring and validating moments that helped to lay the groundwork for my creative life . They are some of the moments that led me to follow my instincts and become a craftsman , a potter , a musician , a builder of things . Saint David ’ s was one of the places where I very comfortably identified as an artist and felt validated as such .
Mr . Jeff Moore and Ms . Mary Miner populate some of these memories . I recall clearly the first time Mr . Moore played us a recording of Led Zeppelin ’ s “ Stairway to Heaven ” in my third-grade music class . That same year , he introduced us to ELO ( Electric Light Orchestra ), Brahms , and Debussy .
A few years later , Mr . Moore had us all notate our own rudimentary compositions on blank pieces of staff paper . He then proceeded to sight read and play each of our pieces for the class at the piano — I remember this powerful feeling rush through me that I myself had created music , albeit somewhat atonal . He showed us in that simple yet powerful lesson that we could create . He brought something to us in that moment that had seemed so out of reach . Hanging in his music room was a poster that spoke to this freedom . Two women are holding hands and dancing and above them it reads “ If you can walk , you can dance ; if you can talk , you can sing .” Mary Miner was my first ceramics and guitar instructor . She had a way of speaking ; she took us seriously ; she always made me feel like an artist . She spoke to us when reviewing projects in the way that I would later speak with fellow art students and colleagues . She was genuinely positive about everything we created , while still pushing us to try new things and to work hard . She was open and unguarded with us . In Chapel
30 • Saint David ’ s Magazine