2011 News
Arts in the Ozarks News Letters
Piano Man... Ray While walking through the ballroom/rehearsal area that our performing artists are using this week...simply put, I was looking for a story. What I should have been doing is listening. Out of nowhere, because the entire area was empty, I heard the prettiest piano music being played. The wonderful jazz riffs drew me along a path to the back of the vast ballroom where a solitary figure was intensely concentrating on the keys in front of him. Music...A Life Time Journey "My first choice was Air Force, but I was past the age limit, so Army it was" said Joey Wilson of Austin, Texas. Wilson was a single mom with two young children when she joined the military. A musician since she was a young girl, the military helped her to stabilize her life, her music helped her to make a living. The Art of Deception They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The true essence of any art form is its ability to evoke emotion. These emotions can range from humor to profound grief, all natural human emotions. How about hunger? Even better, how about hunger in a fish? All Aboard! There was excitement in the air as busloads of Veterans and staff waited in anticipation to board the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad train on Thursday. The train ride was one of many alternate activities planned this week. Country music artist Michael Peterson, who will emcee the Stage Show on Sunday, joined us. Peterson spent time talking with Veterans on the train, and even got a little attention from the train car conductor who asked him "Can you get me in the Grand Ol' Opry?" Art, it’s a Beautiful Thing Two Creative Arts Festivals, two gold medals for Vietnam Veteran Harold (Bud) Smith of Newburyport, Mass. When Smith returned from Vietnam he knew something was wrong, but he didn’t know what. PTSD wasn't mentioned back in 1962 when he was discharged from the Air Force. He tried different activities on his own to address his problems…hypnosis and yoga, among others. Then he began "doodling" on a pad of paper and then to painting, when he realized it was helping him. Healing Myself through Art Army Veteran Judy Hill served her country for 23 years, from 1977 until she retired in 2002. After returning to home to Monroe, Louisiana, Judy obtained an Art Teaching Certification in the event that she needed to work. It turned out that teaching was too stressful and she decided not to pursue teaching. Writers Read Work to other Veterans While creative writing has been a category for four years at the Festival, this is the first time an interaction session was held where artists were able to share their writings with others. On Wednesday evening, several Veterans gathered in the Commerce Ballroom to hear poetry, short stories, and personal experience essays with topics ranging from military life, recovery, PTSD, humor, patriotism, and life's journey. |
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