How did you arrive at the Brookline Arts Center? I was approached by a friend who was on the board at the time, she knew about my background and thought that as a mom of young children I would bring a valuable perspective to the board. At that point I started to take my younger son to the Moms, Dads and Tots classes and my older son was still in preschool and tried a few classes as well.
Tell us about your background. How did you become interested in art? As a child I really enjoyed taking a wide assortment of art classes, everything from drawing fundamentals to macrame and decoupage. Looking back I think it was as simple as it is for many kids—the act of creating art can be a nice way to use your brain in a different way, take a break from all the pressures that kids have or perceive in their life and enjoy creating something tangible.
My high school offered an art major track that allowed participants to take class with like minded students as well as the opportunity to start to develop a portfolio with teacher support. I liked that I had this (almost secret) specialized and supportive group of kids for my junior and senior year. My high school was quite large, each graduating class had over 650 kids and the art class was a thoroughly eclectic group. So the barrier crossing felt like The Breakfast Club and we had a blast, I loved having that time and space.
What passions do you bring to the BAC community? I try to help however I can. I’ve been on the board for several years and tend to help with our event planning, fundraising and friendraising. Brookline has so many wonderful non profits so raising money for an art center that also has a successful school can be challenging. I am very proud of the people who work for the center and all the community outreach that is accomplished. It’s worth it to continue to build financial support, to bring that special peace and happiness of making art to people who can benefit from it.
What do you enjoy most about the BAC? There is a wonderful sense of camaraderie at the BAC and on our board right now. At a time in my life when I spend a lot of my time thinking about my kids and parenting it is nice to have another project where I can be useful in a different way. I also like going into the building itself, seeing what the latest gallery show looks like and right now as we work on updating the historic building it has become a new way of seeing ideas come to life.
What was your favorite childhood art project? I used to spend hours at home making little dioramas out of shoe boxes. At the time I wanted to be an interior designer so I used to draw wallpaper and experiment with colors.
Who are some of your art heroes? I grew up near Philadelphia so I was lucky to have had many visits to the Philadelphia Museum of Art as well as many of the museums in New York City. I loved walking into the museum in Philly and up the stairs in the main hall inside and seeing the gold statue of Diana. Eventually I started to really love modern art, mixed media pieces and graphic design. A big turning point as a kid was learning about and appreciating typeface. I have an appreciation for many fine artists but I was fascinated with type. I loved learning about Paul Rand: his pioneering work on logos, movie credits. I’ve always really loved Marc Chagall.