From the Director

Dear Friends of Bolles Arts,

As a lifelong lover of words I can think of few that have the same power for me as CREATE. The joy, the frustration, the successes and failures of that noble pursuit excite me. At Bolles we teach Fine and Performing Arts Students to maximize their expressive potential through the varied tools, techniques, and skills necessary for successful translation from idea to final form — or creation. Our students experience success, quite a bit, but they also experience failure — which I often find more interesting. Each day I walk pass the kiln I see the concerned artists wondering if their piece made it through firing or if it exploded because they neglected to “wedge” the piece properly (wedging is the process artists use to remove air pockets form their clay). The dismay at losing something you created is palpable, but they go ahead and start again — this time paying more care to the process. I have students who will walk onto stage for the first time and realize they have completely forgotten their line — but to be hokey — the play must go on! No one can rescue them, they have to rescue themselves.

Our Director of Bands, Maggie Vance, has a sign in her classroom that says “I didn’t say it would be easy, I said it would be worth it.” I love that sign! This is grit. This is one of the many lessons the arts teach us and this is the great gift of creation. Of course the successes are equally as meaningful. Nothing beats the feeling backstage at a performing arts event — the buzz of fear excitement and pride! I love to see the faces of the students posing for photos in front of their work in the Gallery where it is being admired by family and friends alike. No matter the age, or the, in some cases, knee jerk “mom your embarrassing me” retort, the joy of displaying their creation can’t be washed from their expression. They know what Mrs. Vance and all of the teachers of the fine and performing arts know — It wasn’t easy but it was worth it.

Thank you for your continued support of Bolles Arts.

Laura Rippel
Director of the Fine and Performing Arts
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