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Visual arts offer a new perspective to those who learn them in midlife
Posted: Sep 19, 2008 in Culture
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When he was a young man, Thomas A. Himsel decided he didn't have the talent to be an artist.
He'd taken some drawing classes, and, compared to the work of his friends, Himsel felt his renderings didn't measure up. So he quit.
Decades later, Himsel is now re-living the dream. At age 56, he recently sold his successful garden shop/nursery in Brownsburg to paint landscapes full time.
"I'm really looking forward to it for myself. I want to spend at least the first couple of years just honing my skills and working to become a much better artist," he said. "I'll worry about sales and stuff like that later on. Right now, I'm concerned about being the kind of artist I want to be."
The romantic notion of artistry is that inspiration strikes like lightning at the youthful, who then spend the rest of their lives trying to capture and express it. But for many, art is a journey that doesn't even begin until later in life.
Some are drawn to art by their own encounters with it; they see a painting or sculpture and think, "I can do that." Sometimes it's a change in career, the urging of a spouse or even tragedy that leads them to pick up a brush, buy a camera or mold glass or bronze.
For Himsel, the idea of selling his business to paint had been growing for the past five years or so. He took up oil painting in his mid-40s after attending a Southwestern art show with his wife, Jetta Tarr, and thinking it was something he could do. After taking art classes, he discovered that drawing and painting are completely different -- and much harder than he'd thought.
"I've worked on farming, done all kinds of hard work, retail and stuff like that. But (painting) is really the hardest thing I've ever done," Himsel said. "Everybody thinks it's a mystical moment when you just pick up a brush and paint ..... It's a lot about natural gifts, but it's hard work."
He's sold a number of paintings, and has been in the prestigious Hudson Valley (N.Y.) Art Fair three times. Despite his late start, fellow artists encouraged him to keep refining his painting. He did, with the help of classes at the Scottsdale (Ariz.) Artists' School and "miles and miles" of drawing and painting.
Though he's done plenty of figures, it is landscapes that most attract Himsel. "When you're working outside, you have a real short time to work. It's as much about what you leave out of the painting as what you put in."
The decision to give up his business was not one he made lightly, and not without encouragement from his wife. Himsel does look back on the years before he picked up a brush with regret -- but not much.
"Yes, I wish I would have started earlier. But you start where you start. It takes everybody probably 10 to 12 years, even if they have talent, to do the kind of art you want to do."
Glenn Evans, 55, sculptor
By day, Glenn Evans is a research scientist working at Eli Lilly and Co., seeking ways to combat cancer. By night, he becomes a sculptor and teacher.
Evans, 55, took up sculpture four years ago in part to find a creative alternative to the left-brained, analytical work that makes up his career. Today, he teaches casting of bronze, aluminum and iron sculpture at the Indianapolis Art Center -- the same place he learned the art.
"Doing art is so much different from what I do during the day. You completely change your mindset," Evans said.
He'd always liked sculpture, he said, and decided that -- since his five children were ages 18 to 28 -- it was time to try something new.
"I find working in the art studios very therapeutic. You can go in there and you can completely forget about what else has been going on throughout the day. It's a relaxing thing, totally different from what I do during the day."
But Evans' science background often creeps into his work. He tends to work in spheroids and other shapes that he encounters in biology.
"So many of them (his works) are representational of something you would see under a microscope," he said.
He currently has a sculpture on display in the center's faculty art exhibit, and jokes that most of his work lies in his yard. So far, he hasn't thought about selling his sculptures.
"It's just for me at this point."
Jeff Rothenberg, 46, glass-blower and sculptor
Jeff Rothenberg became a glass-blower through his wife, Joani, an art therapist who uses the creation of art to help people face their challenges.
About a decade ago, Rothenberg, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Indiana University, had a particularly hard week at work: Several infants under his care died. Joani insisted he attend a class at the Indianapolis Art Center as a therapeutic release.
Not only did Rothenberg become an accomplished artist himself, the experience convinced him that the arts are something all doctors should pursue. Burnout is common in the medical field, he said, and the arts help open up new avenues of experience and interaction.
"By paying attention to literature and the arts, one can develop and nurture the skills of observation, analysis, empathy and self-reflection. These are humanistic attributes that are essential for humane medical care," Rothenberg said via e-mail from Eldoret, Kenya, where in early September he was putting up a sculpture at the forthcoming Riley Mother/Baby Hospital as part of IU's program at Moi University.
For his own artwork, Rothenberg said, the ability to use glass to create endless forms immediately appealed to him. He has sold numerous works, and has had commissions for such institutions as the Indy 500 Foundation.
"Glass, like surgery, is a medium which is very unforgiving and demanding. It challenges me, and teaches me, every time I work in the studio."
He also creates sculptures, one of which is displayed with the Anne Frank exhibit at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis.
At age 46, Rothenberg has no intention of giving up his medical career, but he seeks ways to complement it with his love of the arts.
"I want to incorporate the arts (all aspects) into the curricula of the IU School of Medicine, both formally through electives and informally," he said.
"We need to model the idea that you need to take care of yourself. Art is one way to do that, but it could be anything you do that feels liberating."
Bonnie Fortner, 64, photographer
For Bonnie Fortner, art was something she found through loss.
The Warren Township woman took up photography only after losing her job. And the death of her mother fueled her passion for capturing the beauty of nature.
Fortner had been working as a bookkeeper for nearly 30 years at a local office supply store. When the company relocated to Cincinnati, her job was eliminated. She was 56 years old at the time, and decided that if accounting was done with her, then she was done with accounting.
Instead, she started a business restoring old photographs with computer software, a skill in which she mostly was self-taught. Then, four years ago, her niece and nephew had enrolled in some photography classes at IUPUI and persuaded her to join them.
Fortner was hooked. She took more and more classes, bought an expensive camera and soon was bringing in an income photographing people, as well as butterflies and other nature scenes.
"It's really an art. I thought taking a picture is not. But you have to learn all of the rules and the whole concept of what makes a beautiful picture."
Her work became more focused after her mother's death in 2005.
"After my mother passed away, I seemed to develop this new (desire) to capture the beauty of nature in flowers, because my mother really loved flowers."
She began to experiment with computer software to alter her images, adding background effects or even changing the color of the blossoms. And her reputation as an artist took off.
Fortner, 64, has had two exhibits at local galleries this year alone. She uses trips to Europe or Hawaii, and winters spent in Florida, as prime flower-hunting opportunities -- not to mention photographing them in her large backyard garden.
She works from home, spending hours on her computer finding ways to enhance her images. She's looking to take her art a step further by learning software that will let her turn photos into virtual paintings, complete with brush strokes.
Fortner says that if you had asked her eight years ago if she'd ever become a working artist, she'd have laughed it off. Now, she's eager to learn the newest photographic and digital tricks.
"I always want to be trying out something different," she said.
