1 C r e a t i v e e x p r e s s i o n s B y H o m e l e s s n a s H v i l l i a n s

s m artS T R E E T

t W o s t o r i e s A R T I S T U N K N O W N Game Board, Tape, Glue

9”h x 7”w x 8”d

S E p T E m b E R 2 0 1 1A RT E x h i b i T i o n

2

p e o p l e g a i n s e l f - e s t e e m

t h r o u g h t h e c r e a t i v e p r o c e s s .

— TOm SeIGeNTh AleR

AboVEb r o w n b a g d r a w i n g s

Brown Paper Bags, Oil Pastel54”h x 38”w

on ThE CoVERp o e t U N K N O W N A R T I S T

Candle Wax, Ink Wash17”h x 12”w

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street smart: Creative expressions of Homeless nashvillians is the inaugural art exhibition

of the Artist-In-Residence Program sponsored by the Thomas P. Seigenthaler Fund for

Creativity. And it is the culmination of a simple but profound premise: creativity feeds the soul.

Tom Seigenthaler nurtured this premise. he believed that art, manifested as creativity of any kind in any endeavor, must be kneaded into life — every life. Aware that daily existence

for Room In The Inn’s guests could be, in his words, “pretty thin soup,” Tom was determined

to throw some meat into the pot. A visual artist and writer, he began teaching art classes at

our campus in 2000. his objective was to introduce concepts of color, shape, texture and

light to participants, encouraging them to express — and perhaps even soar beyond — their

own stories.

The artistic works of Tom’s students were evidence of the power of the creative process.

Breathtaking outpourings of pain, joy, sorrow and hope. miniature monuments to individual

integrity in the face of daily degradation.

Tom died in 2004. In his memory, his wife — my sister, Veronica — and his daughters Katie,

Beth, Amy and maria established the Fund to encourage Tom’s passion for infusing every

endeavor with imagination. Fittingly, the Fund’s first initiative is the Artist-In-Residence

Program at Room In The Inn.

We could not have asked for more thoughtful, respectful and wise leadership from our first

smS

TR

EE

T

C h A R l E S S T R o b E l Founding Director/Room In The Inn

SePTemBeR 2011

Street SmART demonstrates that their work also has the power to nourish us,

their fellow travelers.

I want to express my deep appreciation to Tom’s family — my family — to Delia

and emily, to my colleagues at Room In the Inn, and most of all to the students.

By crossing the threshold of a classroom, they showed the courage to enter an

unfamiliar world and explore their place in it.

i also strongly encourage other visual artists in the nashville community to apply for the Fund’s Artist-in-Residence program. It is a rare opportunity

to fully understand Tom’s credo that, in moments of creativity, we all become

more than we believe ourselves to be.

Artists-in-Residence: Delia Seigenthaler (Tom’s niece) and Emily holt, both art teachers at University School of nashville. As you will observe throughout Street SmART, Delia and emily’s choice of found materials as the

basis for weekly exercises gave our guests subliminal permission to feel at home in the classroom. Consequently,

everyone who participated eventually dropped their guard and dove in.

The works that came out of this environment are spectacular tactile expressions of time well spent. This is

remarkable when you consider that most of our guests must spend the majority of their time simply struggling

to survive. Yet those who participated in the Artist-In-Residence Program during the harsh winter of 2010 were

given warmth and nourishment — by their teachers, by their fellow students and by a realization of their capacity

to create.

4

A Nashville native, Delia

Seigenthaler has been a

member of the art faculty at

University School of Nashville

since 2001. She earned her

B.F.A. from middle Tennessee

State University and her

m.F.A from The School of

the Art Institute in Chicago.

A ceramic artist and sculptor,

she also has taught at the

Sarratt Student Center at

Vanderbilt and was an adjunct

faculty member with Belmont

University’s art department.

W e h a v e b e e n n o t i c i n g t h e i r h a n d s w h i l e t h e y w o r k .

s o m e a r e c a l l o u s e d , g n a r ly, w o r n , b r u i s e d a n d s c a r r e d . o t h e r s a r e e l e g a n t w i t h e x p r e s s i v e , l o n g f i n g e r s .

W e w o n d e r w h a t s t o r i e s t h o s e h a n d s h a v e t o t e l l .

When i think about the best teachers that I’ve

ever had and why, I remember those who were

not necessarily the most brilliant but the most

sincere. As the Thomas P. Seigenthaler Fund

for Creativity’s first Artists-In-Residence, emily

and I launched the program with a commitment,

first and foremost, to be open, vulnerable and

sincere with every student who walked through

the door.

We certainly came to the classes with more

questions than answers. Could artistic

expression provide a feeling of control for those

whose lives are often random and chaotic? In

their lonely struggle with homelessness, would

the students find meaning in anything we had

to teach them? Could our time together promise

more than a welcome escape from street life?

The students, with worn

hands and bodies —

gentle and gracious

— were open to new

ideas, yet skeptical and

afraid of failure. Soon,

however, lines in faces

and weary eyes were

abou

t th

e ar

tist

s-in

-res

iden

ce

DE

liA

SE

igE

nT

hA

lE

R

ThE qUoTES ThRoUghoUT ThiS CATAlogUE WERE

SElECTED FRom ThE joURnAlS oF ARTiSTS-in-RESiDEnCE

DEliA SEigEnThAlER AnD Emily holT.

transfixed by their work. Pride and laughter

replaced fear and anxiety. What emerged by

the end of each hour was hope, a renewed

confidence, and a sense that all of us were

experiencing something transcendent.

The expression of that transcendence is this

remarkable exhibition.

5

W e h a v e b e e n n o t i c i n g t h e i r h a n d s w h i l e t h e y w o r k .

s o m e a r e c a l l o u s e d , g n a r ly, w o r n , b r u i s e d a n d s c a r r e d . o t h e r s a r e e l e g a n t w i t h e x p r e s s i v e , l o n g f i n g e r s .

W e w o n d e r w h a t s t o r i e s t h o s e h a n d s h a v e t o t e l l .

o n e o f t h e j oys o f

being an art teacher

is watching students

lose themselves in

making something. I

have witnessed this

with my students of all

ages. Transported to a

magical zone, ideas and possibilities begin to

pour out of them, leading to even more ideas and

dissolving inhibitions.

I will never forget the day I witnessed this while

teaching at Room In The Inn. The assignment

was to make a horse out of scraps of wood, wire

and string. I noticed that one student named

Em

ily

ho

lT

Originally from memphis,

emily holt has been member

of the art faculty at University

School of Nashville since

2003. She earned her B.F.A.

from middle Tennessee State

University and her m.F.A.

from the University of North

Carolina at Chapel hill. In

addition to teaching, she is

a working artist — primarily

an oil painter, as well as a

sculptor and book artist.

Jeff was giggling as he worked. I overheard

him say, “This is actually fun!” At the end of

class he restated how much fun he’d had. “I

turned into a kid again for an hour,” he said.

Jeff’s statement had a profound impact on me.

I couldn’t comprehend or pretend to understand

the life he led day to day. But I could relate to

his delight in creating a horse from bits of scrap.

And so I could relate to Jeff. We both knew the

feeling of losing oneself in the moment and

finding the simple joy in making something.

We knew what it was like to be a kid again.

If only for a brief moment, we were together

in a place where possibilities and imagination

are endless.

B U r n o U t m I C h A e l h . Collage, Comics, Stamps12”h x 9”w

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a b o u t t h e s t u d e n t s

A few came week after week. But most came

only once, despite promises to return. While

creating, they were utterly immersed, unhurried

and unaware of time passing. They had no

place else to go.

And when they left, they almost never signed

or claimed their work. They seemed content

to spend time creating something worthwhile,

and genuinely pleased with the outcome. They

did not want or expect anything else.

that was enough.

they came because they had something to say

with their hands, even if they did not know how

or what. In this respect, they were like people

the world over who want to do more than simply

live in the world. They want, instead, to interpret

it. And they often start by taking an art class.

Yet as much as they had in common with others

who gravitate toward making art, the Room

In The Inn students were different. The few

precious possessions they brought to the class

were all that many of them had: their memories,

their hopes and their singular perspectives.

What if I cast the students’ hands in beeswax?

It smel ls good, comes from nature, varies in color from block to

block yet is neutral.

If I hang the casts on the wal l , wil l they recognize their own?

Wil l the position of their hands tel l a story or show emotion?

Wil l their hands reveal anything about their past?

I put the hands in pairs, repetit ive patterns throughout

the classroom.

The pairs become a community where everyone is equal —

t h e s a m e y e t s o u n i q u e .

And no one is rich or poor.

H a n d s t o g e t h e r D e l I A S e I G e N T h A l e R

Beeswax Castings

7

8

m u s ta c h e m a n C h A R l I e C . Cardboard, Graphite, Glue

11”h x 12”w x 3”d

he was wearing glasses. The magnifying kind that make your eyes look huge. he said he was not an artist.

H e wa s a p e r f e c t i o n i s t.

‘No one wil l ever want what I make,’ he said three times. ‘That’s not true,’ I told him. ‘We’l l see about that. I have high expectations for you.’

9

We ask the students to cut cardboard and make a three-dimensional face. They don’t understand.

‘how can I?’ one asks. ‘What am I supposed to do that for?’ says another.

W e b a c k t r a c k .

We explain again, but their faces are blank. Final ly, we ask them to just get started. ‘C’mon,’ we urge, ‘try something.’”

They try. They do it.

s o o n , a l l a r e h a p p i ly w o r k i n g.

s e l f p o r t r a i t W I l l I e R . Cardboard, Graphite, Glue

12”h x 10”w x 3”d

l a d y e l O R A C . Cardboard, Graphite, Glue

12”h x 10”w x 3”d

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They do not question drawing on paper bags.

n o t o n e p e r s o n e v e n

a s ks, ‘ W h y ? ’

I t seems to them to make total sense to draw on a paper bag.

p r o f i l e T Y R O N e m .Brown Bag, Oil Pastel17”h x 12”w

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H e wa s v e ry s h y, q u i e t. he did not want to do the project we’d planned for that day. he asked if he could just draw a

picture. We gave him paper and he made the most beautiful drawing. We gushed over the quality of his l ine and his

subtle, sensitive style. he said he used do some mechanical drawing, and is comfortable with a pencil .

C o l o r e d p e n c i l s e r i e s # 1 R O B e R T S . Colored Pencil, Paper18”h x 12”w

12

We showed the students images of Romare Beardon’s col lages as inspiration, and asked them to recreate a scene from childhood or depict three people important to them. t h i s o p e n e d t h e m u p. most enjoyed talking about where they came from, and their famil ies and friends. Though some told stories of leaving a bad situation and some talked of regret.

F i s h i n g T O m P .Torn-paper Collage

12”h x 16”w

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We gathered boxes. Inside we placed styrofoam, string, fake flowers, smal l toys,

buttons, toothpicks and broken objects.

We asked the students to make a sculpture using the box

and everything in it . They loved this exercise.

In the end, we spray-painted their works si lver.

They cal led it ‘t h e B l i n g p r o j e c t. ’

lEF T

K i t p r o j e C t s H i p l U I S m . mixed media, Silver Spray Paint

21”h x 5”w x 6”d

R ighT K i t p r o j e C t a r m y J O S e A .

mixed media, Silver Spray Paint12”h x 14”w x 6”d

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This was an interesting class. The concept was to make heads, arms and legs of clay, then build a figure with a stuffed cloth body holding the clay pieces together. The interesting part was col laborating on the heads. each student added a feature, then passed the orange-sized head to someone else.

make eyes. pa s s i t o n .

make a nose. pa s s i t o n .

mouth. pa s s i t.

ears. pa s s i t.

And final ly, hair for the head.

m a n W i t H r e d C o at C O l l A B O R A T I V e W O R K Ceramic, Wood, Paper

15”h x 8”w x 3”d

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lEF Ts i m p l e m a n C O l l A B O R A T I V e W O R K

Ceramic, Chair Parts22”h x 6”w x 4”d

R ighTW o m a n W i t H o r a n g e H a i r C O l l A B O R A T I V e W O R K

Ceramic, Glaze11”h x 7”w x 4”d

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lEF T p o n y A R T I S T U N K N O W N

Sticks, Paper, Glue10”h x 13”w x 6”d

R ighTH o r s e J e F F

Sticks, Wire, Glue, Steel Wool11”h x 15”w x 5”d

The objective: to build a horse out of scraps of wood, wire, sticks and glue. each student started with a simple geometric shape, and refined it by adding curves and details. s o m e a d d e d a b i t m o r e t h a n o t h e r s , but even the rough ones looked fantastic.

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e v e ryo n e w i l l h av e a fav o r i t e s p o r t , we reasoned. We asked the students to pick theirs and draw it from an aerial view — to think about the field, the court, the players, the stands fi l led with fans.

It was a great way to teach abstraction without having to teach abstraction.

B e a C H v o l l e y B a l l U N K N O W N A R T I S T Paper, Oil Pastel

15”h x 22”d

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a l l i s e a s y B R I A N h . Paper

18”h x 12”w

The project today was poetry. We brought words randomly cut from magazines, newspapers and old children’s books. They quickly started working. One man told us he l ikes having a quiet place to go for awhile. everyone says thank you and that they wil l be back next week. We know this wil l not be the case. B u t t h e y m e a n i t

w h e n t h e y s ay i t.

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We experimented with a wax resist. The point was let go of any notion that the drawing should look a certain way, and just experience the process of drawing.

The s t u d e n t s d r e w o n e a n o t h e r , b u t c o u l d n o t s e e what they were drawing because they were using wax on white paper. later we revealed the drawings by brushing ink

over the paper. The results were compel l ing.

W o m a n w i t h C o l l a r A R T I S T U N K N O W NCandle Wax, Ink Wash20”h x 14”w

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We asked around for board games and pre-cut them into

shapes that could be made into houses.

t h e a c t o f

b u i l d i n g a h o u s e wa s

s a d f o r s o m e . We had conversations about the days when

the students had a place to l ive, and about

what it would be l ike to have a house.

n o p l a C e l i K e H o m e U N K N O W N A R T I S T Game Board, Tape, Glue

9”h x 7”w x 8”d

life without art is pretty thin soup.

certainly, life can be sustained without art, but it will grow to be just a stunted, runty thing, small and feeble without the strength to:

swim the deep seas of intellect or

wade the swift streams of creativity

a pitiful thing, limping along on the artificial crutches and props presented as reality:

fashion, fame, flamboyance and investment.

with art as a part of the mix, life becomes the yeast of individual and collective life, the thing and the people of which myths are made, fables formed future lives shaped and quiet nights with a glass of pleasure made to be much more.

J A N UA R Y 1 , 1 9 9 5

a rt

The Thomas p. Seigenthaler Fund for Creativity and Room in The inn would like to acknowledge the invaluable support and in kind contributions of

lee ann merrick

mickey dobo

parking management Company

Colorstream digital

trent Boysen

The Fund currently is accepting applications for the 2012 Artist-In-Residence Program, and encourages visual artists throughout the Nashville community to apply.

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Room in The inn provides a continuum of care that addresses emergency and short-term needs as well as long-term goals for those struggling with homelessness.

This event benefits The Thomas P.

Seigenthaler Fund of The Community

Foundation of middle Tennessee,

which funds artists-in-residence

annual ly at Room In The Inn.

w w w . r o o m i n t h e i n n . o r g