“ All of this is to show by way of anecdotes and memories what validation and respect feels like as a child , artist or otherwise .”
one day she shared a personal story about her own life as a disabled child ; she let us into her world as a person and as an artist .
I took guitar lessons at her apartment after school . Her apartment was itself an inspiring place for a budding artist . She had framed drawings , sketches , or studies selectively displayed on the walls , making you feel as if you were in a life drawing class at that very moment , and she had a record player and records that she still listened to . During these lessons , we delved into her file cabinet filled with sheet music , guitar tablature , and hundreds of pages of popular song lyrics with chord changes written above the lines to play along with . I remember some were originals and some were copies of the original pages that she had typed up . It was intimidating and inspiring to see the vast catalogue of music she transcribed over the years . I looked forward to every lesson not only because I was getting hooked on the guitar , but because I felt lucky to be in this artistic apartment and to feel like an artist already .
My investigation into art was unimpeded and encouraged , and throughout my entire Saint David ’ s education across all disciplines , art was always a part of the whole — an integrated and valued element in the story .
All of this is to show by way of anecdotes and memories what validation and respect feels like as a child , artist or otherwise . The teachers I admired possessed strong character and unique ability . They were my mentors .
Years later , after studying art and ceramics at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago , I founded New York Stoneware , a production pottery company in the South Bronx . I have designed a line of standardized tableware and decorative forms for the home . Every year I uniformly throw thousands of pieces on the pottery wheel . Three employees now carry the work through to completion and our pottery is sold in stores all over the country and online including on our company website .
When I ’ m not making pottery at work or helping to raise our two children , I play the guitar , I build electric guitars from scratch , and I build guitar amplifiers — all at our kitchen counter , much to the chagrin of my wife . I also enjoy green woodworking and carving spoons when I ’ m anywhere with freshly fallen tree limbs to use as material . In fact my familiarity with the wood shop started at Saint David ’ s in Gary Kessler ’ s shop classes that I took throughout the years . I eventually learned , while making my first electric guitar-kit building project in his shop class , that Mr . Kessler also played the guitar .
I ’ m not sure yet how my son ’ s interests will develop or where they might lead him , but I am confident that at Saint David ’ s he will find many sources of inspiration and be able to explore them while being guided , supported , and educated fully in a true liberal arts curriculum . With the knowledge he learns , but most importantly with the support and guidance from the invaluable teachers , he will have the fundamentals to make an assertive step forward in the future . M
William Reardon ’ 99 , father of a current Kindergartner at Saint David ’ s , is the founder of New York Stoneware . ( www . newyorkstoneware . com )
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