|
Alumnae Celebrate Sesquicentennial with Art
Many alumni helped celebrate Queens’ Sesquicentennial in a variety of ways. Three alumnae decided to honor the University by using their artistic talents and skills. Betty Bell Brown ’58, Robin Scroggs Hawkins ’67, and Rhett Sapp Thurman ’65, honored their alma mater through art. They each created special art pieces in order to let the Queens community know how much they appreciated their time at Queens.
|
Betty Bell Brown's '58 watercolor of Trexler
|
|
Robin Scroggs Hawkins' '67 fiber pieces representing Queens past, present & future
|
|
Rhett Sapp Thurman's '68 painting of Diana courtyard
|
Betty Bell Brown ’58
Betty entered Queens as a freshman in the fall of 1954. At the time Queens offered an Associate Degree in Business or Secretarial Administration. She took all basic required courses and all the business courses. In June 1957, she married Charles Brown whom Betty met through his sister, Ara Katherine Brown Griffin ’55, on a blind date.
Betty’s years at Queens continued to peak a lifelong interest in art. “My schedule was always too full to take electives while there, but I was always curious about what was going on in the art department. Later I studied with Marbury Hill Brown who had taught at Queens,” Betty said.
Betty designed the Sesquicentennial water color poster. Betty had not visited campus in a number of years, so she made a couple of trips to take in the changes that had occurred in her absence. “I was especially taken with the beauty of the campus that remained intact, and the very dramatic changes,” Betty said, which had occurred since she was a student. Betty painted the juxtaposition of the corner of Morrison (where she lived her freshman year) against the more recent Trexler Student Center. Betty says the painting “combined the memories sparked by Morrison with one of the newer additions to campus.”
Betty feels fortunate to have found a career in art as a studio and plein air painter for the past thirty-two years. “Working very hard at painting and drawing and continuing to push toward elusive self-satisfaction is, perhaps, the challenge that provides my motivation. A passion for giving importance to otherwise commonplace surroundings keeps me working. I paint at home and travel the world, always observing ways to translate the overlooked into something worth consideration,” Betty states.
|
Betty Bell Brown '58
|
Robin Scroggs Hawkins ’67
Robin graduated from Queens in 1967 with a degree in Sociology. In the late 1980's she came back to Queens and got a degree in Art in 1991. “Queens gave me the basic skills to do my art---draw, paint, printmake, plus a wide scope of understanding art through art history. As always, Queens encouraged independent and creative thinking which must go along with the basic skills,” Robin says.
Robin made three fiber pieces which can be seen hanging in the Everett Library. She decided to do three pieces instead of one since she was trying to incorporate the ideas of Queens past, present, and future. According to Robin, “Queens past is a script ‘Q’ reminiscent of the old logo. It is more feminine and ‘pretty’ than the other two. The second piece is Queens present represented by my version of the present logo. The material in it is mostly denim, which I think is very appropriate for what you see now around Queens. Queens’ future is represented by a shooting star going into outer space, far beyond what we can imagine now.”
Rhett Sapp Thurman ’65
| Rhett is self employed and is a professional artist. She is represented by Sylvan Gallery, a traditional gallery located in Charleston, SC, that features nationally and internationally recognized artists and sculptors. Rhett is also a member of the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club of New York, a national organization of professional women artists.
Rhett attended Queens from the fall of 1961 to the spring of ’65. During her time here, she had a professor whom she greatly admired. His name was George Shealy, and at one time, prior to teaching at Queens, he had been an illustrator in New York. Rhett considers him to be her first true mentor. He instilled a strong work ethic in her and she learned much from him about the importance of composition and design in her artwork. Rhett says, “Queens was the perfect transition for me from life at home to the real world. From all of the professors I had to all of the friends I made, Queens provided an atmosphere that was conducive to thinking, proactive women.”
Rhett painted Diana Revisited, a rendering of the Diana courtyard. Since 1940 students have been gathering around the Diana fountain. The painting was adapted from a photo taken of the courtyard last fall as students gathered between classes. Rhett herself has fond memories of Diana and the traditions surrounding her. She feels that Diana has always been a good representation of Queens. Rhett has painted close-up watercolor of her which can be seen in many university offices.
|
Rhett Sapp Thurman '65
|
|
