Being a mother hen to a bunch of artists and craftsmen is no small task. If you don’t believe me, try it sometime when you happen to be bored. I guarantee life will change for you.
.At any rate, it was part of my life’s journey and I am glad I struggled down that pathway because I learned patience and determination not only in handling paintings and sculpture works but in helping to mold people along with their hopes and dreams.
In the process of performing my duties of being an Executive Gallery Director, I learned that it takes great courage to be an artist or craftsman and much appreciation is extended when any assistance is offered to lighten that burden. For them I coined the phrase for our Gallery’s brochure, “Artists leave footprints in the sands of time.”
Zephra May was a round-faced African-American woman who lived with her children in Louisville, Kentucky’s Smoketown area of town. Zephra struggled to feed and clothe her family but her creativity and laughter did not suffer for hard times and the lack of financial means she endured. In our Gallery’s Showcase on the lower level of Founder’s Square rested a likeness of Christ painted on a dried Magnolia leaf. Being without a canvas never slowed her creative expression.
Zephra and her children were devout church members and they sang their faith during Sunday services. One afternoon stands out in my memory when her family stood near that Gallery Showcase and sang hymns that brought me to tears because I knew we were making a memory that I would choose to recall in my hard times.
When I saw Zephra fashioning clothes for the homeless out of plastic bags during our Art On The Plaza summertime event, I immediately gave her the honorary title, “Bag Lady of Louisville”. The title stuck and during a monthly Gallery show in which she was featured, her efforts were brought to the attention of city residents. She became a beacon of hope for the homeless and a tireless force to be recognized before the daily focus was placed on racial equality.
Zephra’s name came to my mind at the top of the list when Sallie Bingham’s Kentucky Foundation For Women’s Organization requested names to receive Foundation Grants. The Grants included a stipend to aid in purchasing items needed to produce artworks and a retreat period of time to use those supplies. The Retreat was housed at the foundation’s rustic location at Wolf Pen Mill off Hwy 42 near Louisville, Kentucky.
Founder’s Square no longer hosts monthly shows of local artists and craftsmen. The glass-enclosed building has disappeared from the plaza. But when I travel past that location across from the Cathedral of Louisville, I remember the days when Artists and Craftsmen walked down the Gallery steps to the lower level and visitors to Louisville were amazed at the works found on Gallery walls.
One young man from Paris, France stared at the display on entering the circular room and asked, “You mean all these artists live here?”
I smiled and assured him that they did. Paris no longer held the market on art.
I often wonder what happened to that young man from Paris. I know what happened to Zaphra. She’s conducting an Angel Choir but I can still hear her sing with her family near a showcase in that spot across the street from the Louisville Cathedral.