I am excited, encouraged and enriched by my return this summer to the Tougaloo Art Colony. 

As the brochure states--it is "A weeklong indulgence in the visual arts, for artists, art educators, art students"

Founded in 1869 by the American Missionary Association, Tougaloo College was chartered on the principles that it “be accessible to all irrespective of their religious tenets, and conducted on the most liberal principles for the benefit of our citizens in general.” Now in its  the twelfth year at historic Tougaloo College in Jackson Mississippi, this annual summertime Art Colony event featured 6 very talented instructors from diverse media and backgrounds. (For more information on upcoming Art Colony Events, contact: art@tougaloo.edu )

Each instructor brings their specialized knowledge, personal style and creative gifts to students in their own classes, and to the entire group. It is a powerful jolt of creative energies, lovingly shared and multiplied throughout the week. This year, the roster of classes and instructors included:

Digital Dreams: How Do I Get There From Here  
(Digital Imaging) Carmen Hathaway

Creative Realism With Abstract Connection 
(Mixed Media) Charles Crossley 

Polymer Clay: Icons, Dolls, Puppets &  Masks 
(Polymer Clay and Textiles) Sarajane Helm

 Creating Icons and Ancestral Memory 
(Welding), Allen Uzikee Nelson 

From the Spirit 
(Acrylic Painting) Arlington Weithers; 

Life Drawing 
(Mixed Media Life Drawing) William “Bill” Henderson

The Clarion Ledger ran a story by Sherry Lucas about the Art Colony, complete with  color pictures and a banner on the front page as well as an online art gallery of ten images from the instructors. 

I had the pleasure to be an instructor in 2004 (click here to see what we did that year!)  
as well as 2008 and I intend to return any time that I'm invited! The sessions are intensive, and the week flies by in a torrential creative river of new techniques and talents, artistic and personal growth. For all that it is set in a hot and humid climate where walking slowly outdoors can help you to make it safely to the next building, the mental pace is fast and brilliantly active as the participants take the knowledge and exposure to the mediums presented and run with it! 

Here's a picture of us in our polymer clay class. The studio space in the Art Department that we occupied has air conditioning--even running two toaster ovens for baking polymer clay was quite tolerable--and necessary, given the creative output of the participants. 

We were baking all the way to the end of the week when we were packing to leave. And, we picked up new students every day as people saw how much fun we were having with polymer clay. 

Click here to see what we made in 2008!

The dormitories are also quite cool and quiet, and bundled up sleep was very pleasant  for those able to tear themselves away from the studios at night. By the time the moon came up at night , we were usually ready to stop but only because our eyes and brains and hands were exhausted from the workout! And bright and early, sunrise the next day would see us ready to go again.  

Jean's Moon is seen at right--the one in the sky was full, but harder to photograph! And yet there are terrific textures lurking in the sky in this shot. I love that about my digital camera. I see so much at different levels with its help. There's a close-up below. Digital Dreams class instructor Carmen Hathaway showed her students how to use photos as a starting point. (Take a look at her image of the Moss Man at Tougaloo on her site!) I would have very much liked to take her class--and all of the other classes too. That may be the hardest part, because as I would briefly visit each classroom to see what was going on, it was all so intriguing and looked like such fun!! Luckily, so was our class. 

Some of the buildings on campus are modern, and some are very old, some even dating back to the days when this campus was a plantation in the heart of the deep South. 

Restoration is an ongoing process, with much work still to be done to keep these historic treasures from passing out of sight and memory. 

Knowledge is power; we are empowered by learning and by understanding, by remembering our histories and by exercising our creativity along with our civil rights and responsibilities.