SPECIFIC FACES NEED NOT APPLY: Shelby, Where Are You?

 

A series of essays….

SISTERHOOD FROM THE SERIES: THE COURAGEOUS 
BY SHELBY MCQUILKIN 

….as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E Hughes

The world remains vast, marvelous, hopeful, and somber at times, especially at the death of one of the strongest and most forthright woman ever to be illuminated in the public spotlight for over seven decades. Queen Elizabeth II.

Due to this vastness of land and its peoples that comprise a world meant to be thoroughly discovered, those of us who enjoy becoming a temporary part of a place, domestic or international, are rejoicing! Doors are opening up for all of us, once again. Whether literally or within our own way of thinking, these doors may still be creaking a bit due to lost time and lack of usage but, their sound is growing louder as the opportunities keep emerging. We are lost souls following the light from a newly opened cellar door; joy to be had in the discovery of stored, fine wine to be served during better days and shared with family and friends. 

While reading and understanding more about the dedicated life of Queen Elizabeth II to her subjects on social media, I came across the artwork of the American contemporary artist, Shelby McQuilkin, and fell, instantly, in love with her work. And, eventually, with the artist herself. 

THE COURAGEOUS BY SHELBY MCQUILKIN 

Her painting, The Courageous, was “dedicated to the courageous women who went before us and did what they said we couldn’t do, who went where we weren’t permitted, who spoke when we were told to be silent. This is for the women who suffered to make way for those of us who came behind them. It’s for the suffragettes who were beaten, arrested, and rejected by their families so that I would be given the right to vote. It is for those who had to work a hundred times harder than a man for that first medical degree, first pilot’s license, first director’s chair, and first senate seat. Thank you to the women who have shown courage under fire, who have persevered, taken the hits and made the path a little easier. We can take courage in your example.”  —-Shelby McQuilkin 

We can ALL take courage in their example!

I am intrigued by, not only her artwork, but by her direct and obvious words of praise for generation after generation of women who helped to shape and bring the power of womanhood out of the dark ages and into the light. I began reading her Blog entitled Wet Paint in order to learn more about her. I discovered that she began her Blog two months before I did in 2013 in order to promote her amazing talent and keep in touch with her fans. (My Blog, Moving On…2022, began in October of 2013, with the purpose of expressing the joy I gained from all of my travels.)

SHELBY MCQUILKIN 

While reading Wet Paint I discovered why so many of her fans wondered where she had been for several years after her abrupt disappearance in 2017. Curiously, her last posts, Returning to the Easel (August 10, 2018) and Growing Strong (August 11, 2018), remain the last on her blog site.

Shelby herself goes on to explain how, on July 1, 2017, she’d suffered a heart attack, possibly induced by the repetitive use of Advil. While experiencing extreme stress in her life, she said she’d temporarily given up painting in order to concentrate on becoming healthier through eating well and exercise. 

ITZCHAK TARKAY ~ INK AND WATERCOLOR 

STARVING ARTISTS GROUP ~ ACRYLIC PAINTS

I promised myself to make contact with Shelby McQuilkin, if at all possible, via email, her Blog, Website, and let her know that there are many of us who truly appreciate her abstract figurative, colorful, contemporary artwork that is so expressive and filled to the brim with the power of sisterhood.

What drew me to her piece, The Courageous, was her effective use of anonymity or impersonality created by her abstract figurative pieces. (When I discovered her series about Paris from 2014, I was hooked for life.) If you are familiar with the artist, Itzchak Tarkay, you will notice his subjects are female and have minimal and undefined facial features. Often, with their eyes closed, these ladies, for me, represent colorful neutrality allowing the observer to insert her/his own beloved faces onto the subjects in the paintings. While living in Orlando, Florida, we purchased several ‘Tarkay-like’ paintings of woman lounging together with unidentifiable faces, eyes closed, that had been for sale by the ‘starving artists’ group in the area. These paintings became a focal point on my family room walls offering bright colors, maternal comfort, and insight into the world around us.

THE PARISIANS BY SHELBY MCQUILKIN 

McQuilkin wrote extensively about her love of travel and The Parisians became a part of her series on France released in November of 2014. “I feel that travel is important, especially for an artist,” she explains. “We find new inspiration and fresh perspective with a change of landscape. Our world view expands; a view of the world that is different from our own. Travel challenges us. We are challenged  with a different language. Traveling educates us. History, art, geography, politics. You can learn so much about other places. Travel changes us. New motivation, new perspectives on life, and a renewed vision in our eyes.”

Writing about the above ideas regarding the positive aspects of travel is why I began my own Blog nearly a decade ago. As long as my love of travel exists, Moving On… will exist, and I am very proud of all of the effort that goes into keeping it alive week after week, year after year. I truly believe that travel can breathe new life into all of us.

I congratulate artists, including Itzchak Tarkay, Shelby McQuilkin, and all of my ‘starving artists’ who elevate the power and intelligence of woman by giving them a strong and colorful voice within their powerful artistic endeavors. They have given us a view of the world that is very important, stimulating, and in tune with reality: women are strong and always have been and will continue to make headways into a world that has been dominated by male voices and ideas for far too long.

GROWING STRONG

OUT OF THE ASHES

TWO PAINTINGS DEPICTING THE ARTIST AS 
GROWING STRONGER AND HEALTHIER

My hope is that with our new expansion of world views through art and travel, we will be enticed to come together with one voice, united and focused. We will be able to attach our own faces of woman we know and admire to the abstract figurative individuals depicted by these artists and honor every woman who has, is, and will contribute to a Sisterhood that everyone is proud of. Woman from all over the globe— unite with restored motivation, cooperative perspectives on life, and renewed vision in our eyes!

Copyright © 2022 by Jacqueline E Hughes

All rights reserved

BREVITY: A SHORT BUT TRANSFORMATIVE YEAR IN A LIFE

 
A series of essays....

STUDENTS ENGAGED IN LEARNING, DECIPHERING,
AND, HOPEFULLY, TAKING AWAY A HIGHER-ORDER OF THINKING

    Courtesy, Linkedin Learning

....as seen through my eyes!

BY: JACQUELINE E. HUGHES

Creative writing classes were yet to be programmed into the curriculum of Indiana University in South Bend or the English Department of Michigan State University in East Lansing back in the day. So, I began my college career taking classes in journalism for one year at IUSB while living with my aunt and uncle before transferring to MSU with a major in English and Secondary Education. 

Journalism courses back in the late sixties were nothing short of eye opening for me in so many ways. Entering my freshman year at seventeen years of age and owning my first car should have been enough of a thrill for anyone to handle. However, couple that with my eight o’clock class professor nursing her newborn while sitting on the front edge of her desk and explaining the principles of the ‘Five W’s plus How’ and how they relate to basic information gathering and problem solving in journalism. The take-away was how comfortable she made me feel in my own skin and how she gave this seventeen-year-old female hope for an upward momentum in women’s rights and equality within a lingering man’s world.

Regrettably, women must continue to fight in 2019! Ridiculous!!! By now, I expected so much more for my own daughters, let alone for their daughters. To think that almost fifty-one years later, nursing your baby in public (even in a classroom when necessitated) remains controversial. If entrenchment in politics equals a large part of the answer, then fight on ladies all over this country! I will support you in every way I can. Especially by utilizing my right to vote for you if I feel you are the best person for the job.

Then there was the male professor who, literally, told us that if it takes the embellishment of a seemingly weak storyline to make it more interesting or attractive in order to sell more newspapers (the news) then, go for it! (“As long as you cover everyone's behind in every way you can.”) Thinking back, was this my personal landmark in the discovery of what was real and what we refer today as ‘fake news?’ To this day, I’m uncertain as to whether this was his own philosophy or that of journalism in general. I’d like to think it was his, alone. I may have been young at the time, but I knew right then that the ‘game’ associated with the press was not for me. 

Of course, this doesn’t mean that all good journalists fit into this category of creating a stronger story out of a weaker one. It just means that this particular professor felt it was alright to do so and was not afraid to teach this to his students.

After an enlightening year of journalism, theater classes, and (wishing I spoke my Ukrainian grandparent’s language fluently) a semi-decipherable class of Russian History taught by a distinguished, elderly Russian professor who spoke minimum and highly accented English, I transferred to MSU the following fall. 

Thinking back on my year spent living with relatives, driving my own car to classes and back home to Michigan to visit each weekend, and formulating my own ideas of what I expected from myself in the future, this time was, truly, my personal rite of passage. Writing, I knew then, would always be my vocation. Travel....sweet travel, would become my greatest passion. Combining the two has become my raison d’être. 

Little did I realize back then that photography would become so important in my life, as well. I guess this would stand to reason considering one aspect of travel is to chronicle and visually record each experience for future recall and reference. Choosing a theme for each trip (lace curtains, the stately, beautiful faces of the elderly, the creative and practical usage of stone in Ireland, colorful flowers) keeps me focused and enhances my overall participation in everything I see and do.

When thinking back on my discreet ‘nursing’ professor back at Indiana University, I tend to associate her with the backbone of information gathering in the form of the Five W’s and link them to the stories (essays) I write today. These questions are my particular take-away from that period in my life and are used in everything I write. You can never relinquish the power that education affords you even when journalism blends into creative writing. Ask any mystery writer you may know! 

WHO was involved?

WHAT happened?

WHERE did it take place?

WHEN did it take place?

WHY did that happen?

With the possible addition of....

HOW did it happen?

Fairly basic questions with answers that bring a writer (be it fiction or non-fiction) directly to the point of the story and beyond. Even though I still have yet to fully grasp the basic task of embracing brevity, or how to write less and say more, I have come to realize that good, concise writing is more than just writing. It is art in its purest form.  

So, thank you ‘hippie mama’ for helping me see society within an equal, level headed, worldly perspective while at a very vulnerable age. I won’t think about how old your beautiful child is today but hope you are still there to share in his life with all of the love and dignity you afforded us, your students at the time, and during that one very special year of my life.

Copyright © 2019 by Jacqueline E. Hughes

All rights reserved