There's always an important person who helps support your interests and encourages you.

There's always an important person who helps support your interests and encourages you.

Charles Burchfield was exceptional. As such an accomplished artist, he had limited previous association with academia and teaching.

I became a bit of a teacher's pet, and it became known in the school by both faculty and students that I really excelled in the arts. So that recognition I credit for my growing interest in art that continued to evolve later on.

Christianity began in Palestine as an experience, it moved to Greece and became a philosophy, it moved to Italy and became an institution, it moved to Europe and became a culture, and it moved to America and became a business! We've left the experience long behind.

I was always kind of naïve, and really needed to be given some direction.

At school there were some programs in music. I did take piano lessons, and we had a piano at home. I got very interested in that.