Wim Roefs

Last Friday morning I received a mass email informing me of the passing of arts advocate Wim Roefs.  Ten days earlier, Wim and I had a text conversation about a sculpture he purchased from me.  When people we know die, we tend to do that thing where we think of our personal interactions with the recently deceased.  You’ll get mocked for it on social media where folks will say you found a way to make the death about you.  In truth, we all do it.  We think about the last time we saw them, the first time we met them, and the impact they made on our lives.  

Wim liked the truth.  That’s one of the reasons we got along well.  

I met him in an interesting way.  I had several sculptures in a nice gallery in downtown Greenville in 2005 and he happened upon them.  He didn’t know me so he reached out by email, telling me his young niece was quite fond of a particular sculpture.  Soon I asked for her mailing address and we arranged a nice little art trade, my sculpture for her drawing.  She signed her drawing and noted that she was in 2nd grade on the back.  Her drawing has been in every studio I have maintained since I received it in 2005.  

A few years later Wim contacted me about putting some public sculptures out in an interstate town several hours away.  Due to all sorts of strange circumstances, that exhibit ended very late and Wim himself delivered my sculptures back to me because he felt bad about the delay.  He wasn’t just a nice, funny guy, he was a decent man.  

I knew that Wim owned a gallery and represented many artists, and while he never asked me to be one of those precious few, he did stay in regular contact to check in on me.  When he was the juror of an exhibit, he would often choose my work for the show.  At the reception, he would tell me that my photographs of my work were terrible and that I needed to do better with documentation.  He said this not as an insult, but as a helpful tip, and I listened.

He was always booked during my summer studio sales but a few years ago, he and his wife Eileen called about a week after the sale.  They were on the road and wanted to know if it was cool if they stopped by.  I cleaned up the mess, dug out some of the art I had put back into storage, and they stopped for a visit.  Every artist I knew wanted Wim to like their work.  They knew he was one of the main arteries of contemporary art in our state and for him to like your work would mean some sort of success.  During those years, he said some very complementary things about my work, but I was never sure if he liked it or not.  He was very careful with his words.  Nevertheless, he encouraged his wife to pick out a drawing and they left with it that day.  This was the first thing Wim bought from me.

In subsequent summers he would text me to tell me he was working the gallery during my studio sale so he wouldn’t be able to attend.  He told me that it was a risky move to have a studio sale with reduced prices for people who drove out to my house.  He made it clear that it wasn’t a bad move on my part, but that it would prevent galleries from wanting to represent me.  I was very aware that I was cutting out the middle man but I had chosen this path because of the freedom it allowed me.  Wim would poke at me verbally, laugh, and we’d move on.  Then he’d call and tell me the city wanted to buy a public sculpture from me.  

As the pandemic drove most of us to the internet for a connection with the outside world, Wim embraced Instagram during 2020.  I was doing my ridiculously fun “Art Remixes” and posting them every day.  Violet and I were also posting our “Quarantunes” songs each day.  Early on, Wim messaged me on Instagram to say he was enjoying the goofy posts.  He would still text occasionally about art but a lot of the banter now happened on Instagram.  He made fun of me for running so much, which is how I learned that he ran a marathon.  Once he even laid claim to being the greatest waffle maker of all time, can you even imagine???  Eventually he texted me with official business saying that he wanted to find a way to give an artistic presentation to the silly things I had posted during quarantine.  

This turned into his idea of having a show of my Art Remixes at 701 CCA in Columbia.  Then he had the idea that we could try to have the first real art reception there since quarantine ended and he invited Violet to perform.  Wim was no stranger to music, nor to hosting bands.  This was huge to Violet as it was her first real public performance.  We played many of our favorite Quarantunes songs and she got to do a couple of songs solo.  Wim really made Violet feel special.  It was great.  Wim then managed to turn that exhibit into a drive-through exhibit at the SC State Fair.  He was always thinking of creative solutions.  

Not long after that, Wim was in touch again to see if I had interest in doing a mural and hosting a weeklong workshop for the Boys and Girls Club.  This was part of a very busy summer but it was also the opportunity that gave me the most in-person time with Wim.  We had many conversations during that week and beyond, that continued to confirm what I had learned about him.  He cared deeply about his friends and about the life of the arts in South Carolina.  He looked for artists who were being honest in their work and who were actually working hard doing their work.  When he found them, he supported them.  He bought their work and encouraged others to buy their work.  He brought them into his circle and used his massive influence to benefit them.  

Much of the artistic success I have found over the last several years owes a debt to Wim.  After hearing the news of his passing, I’ve thought back over our interactions.  I can see that Wim supported me as an artist.  I can see how he was brutally honest with me over the years in an effort to sharpen me.  I can see that he chose to interact with me personally and professionally and for all of this, I am grateful.  I’m also grateful for the ways in which Wim allowed me to know him.  

I’ve read a few things written about Wim by artists who were in his circle over the last few days.  They all spoke kindly of him and all wrote about the impact he had on the arts in our state.  Thinking about his impact in his absence undoubtedly turns our thoughts inward.  Hearing about death forces us face to face with our own mortality but it should also force us to process what we have learned from the deceased.  For those who did not know Wim, there’s a line in his obituary that reads, “Wim was alive, challenging and mischievous, always looking for the next bit of fun to be had.” 

That resonates as truth.

I learned so much from Wim over the years about how the arts work in South Carolina.  I learned that it is a quest forward, with the goal to be better every day.  I want that to be my approach and my work ethic.  We carry pieces of those who have formed us as we live.  Wim was a person who gave pieces of himself freely.

If you knew Wim, I’m glad for you.  If you did not, I hope you’ll ask someone about him.  But whether you knew him or not, there’s something to learn about him from the last line of his obituary:  

May we all reach across the gap he leaves behind, love each other and continue to build community with a quest toward excellence – only excellence.” 

10 years?

I’m lucky enough to have developed a running habit that doesn’t force me to think about running very often.  It’s nice to be on autopilot and to have routines that just make running a natural part of each day.  This morning while running, though, I realized that it was mid May.  This was the runniversary date of my old 6 year running streak.  As I continued thinking about numbers, which is very difficult for me, I realized that with the exception of that one terrible month in 2018, I’ve been running every single day for 10 years.

Let’s lay that out more clearly.  In May 2012 I started keeping track of running a 5K every day.  In July 2018, I let a surgeon cut me open and in return he told me I couldn’t run for 4 weeks.  Weird trade.  In August 2018, minutes from being given the all-clear from the surgeon to run again, I started the streak back up.  And one more total-honesty disclaimer…there were about 3 days while suffering through COVID-19 in January 2021 that I only managed to run 1 mile instead of 3.1 miles.  Those are my only “rest day runs” in 10 years.  All other runs were 3.1 miles at a minimum.  One was 26.2 miles.

Without attempting any math, we can agree that’s a lot of miles over 10 years.  The miles, however, are not the point at all.  Maybe there’s dedication or determination to be found by others who look at 10 years of running but that’s not really the point either.  The thing that keeps returning to my mind as I think about the last 10 years of running is this:  If there’s anything you like about me, it’s probably due to running.

To the non-runner I’m sure this seems nonsensical but I am prepared to present my case.  We’ve established I’m no mathematician and I’ll also let you know I’m no scientist, but Google will be happy to provide scientific studies to back any of the claims I make about how running makes me who I am.  

The most obvious point seems to be my personality.  We either like people or we don’t based on their personality.  Are we to believe that running every day affects my personality?  Absolutely.  Improved self-esteem, improved confidence and lower stress levels are all data-based results of running and I’d argue that these along with one other key ingredient makes up a huge part of my personality.  More on that later.

The health benefits of running are obvious and again, easily Googled.  Faster metabolism, lower risk for heart disease, lower risk for high blood pressure, lower risk of diabetes, increased lung capacities, improved immune defense and weight reduction and maintenance are all well-known results of running.  All those pile up to generally improve mood and personality.

Let’s talk a minute about the connection with improved brain function and creativity.  I often run very early to start my day and I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve completely figured out my schedule, solved problems, and mentally processed important things during this time.  The increased blood flow to the brain stimulates all the creative parts and my sketchbook is all the evidence I need of that.  Where do you get your ideas?  How did you think of that?  That would be running.  I’m the artist I am today because of running.  

Using the broader term of “mental health” which is so popular these days, we can talk about how running reduces stress.  This may be the one that I notice most often in my life.  After a run, either I’ve figured something out, ran through 14 different tough conversations in my head or I’ve exerted myself to the point where I’ve ran the stress right out of me.  After the run, particularly the longer runs, the endorphins are released and I just feel better about everything.  Let’s not forget the importance of sleep when we consider mental health.  A good running regimen will have you falling asleep before your head stops sinking into the pillow.  True fact.  Run 10 miles with me and let’s see how we sleep. Mix all of this together and you get a pretty healthy picture of a person emotionally and mentally.  

Finally, we come to coffee, the other key ingredient.  100% of regular runners enjoy coffee and as we all know, coffee is the real reason any of us are likeable.  Just like my run, you don’t get to talk to me before I’ve had my coffee.  Once I’ve had both, I transform into the friendly guy you’ve come to love.   

So there you have it.  Five good reasons why running either brought us together or kept us friends.  I may have fudged that coffee paragraph, but I don’t really know anyone who would challenge it either.  

Like it or not, numbers are a thing and while I’ve been streaking for 10 years except for that dreadful four weeks, the 6 year streak ended in July 2018 and the new one began in August 2018.  The new streak will be 4 years old in a few months and then I’ll only have 6 more years to go to make it to 10 streak years.  Hopefully you’ll still like me then.  Maybe we’ll have a coffee together.

a long spring

This academic year has been a very tough one for me.  It feels as if it could have easily been 13 years long.  Maybe that's because I'm getting old or maybe that's because I taught 17 different courses this year (true fact).  Either way, it's important to go back through the actual events that made up the semester so that I'll be able to remember more than just the bad things.  Right?

This will be an image heavy post.  Get a hot tea and a comfortable seat and enjoy this little stroll through what I remember about the Spring 2022 semester...

This was my first day on campus.  As I recall, we all just ended up crossing paths at the same time.  These are good people and it was a nice way to get started.

The semester officially began with a nice little faculty exhibit in our gallery.  Almost everything I had was in a solo show in Charleston but I got these guys back from another exhibit just a few days before the show began.

The solo show at Redux was still going on and I knew that a few of the drawings there had sold.  I had another solo show coming up at the end of the semester, so I needed to complete at least 4 new drawings before May.  I got started pretty early because I knew the semester would get crazy near the end.

Our new design colleague Maria had a cool idea for our full time faculty to work together to create the alpha-numeric alphabet using all of our various abilities.  This was a good excuse to keep thinking creatively and to keep making new things.  This was my first letter.

We got a decent snow in January.  Just enough to play in and have a really good excuse to drink lots of hot cocoa.

And we played a lot.  We hadn't had a good snow in a couple of years so we got out all the toys.  We snowboarded with a boogie board and I even rustled up the old skis from the basement and we skied across the yard.

It was pretty.  Then it melted and life moved on.

There was still a bit of ice hanging around on the roads when I drove to Charleston to get the artwork from my show at Redux.  It was very, very cold.

But when you're minutes from the beach, you don't let a little cold air and strong wind keep you from hitting the beach.  I grabbed a lunch at Poe's Tavern on Sullivan's Island...

and then braved the cold to make my sand sculpture 5.  Seriously, it was 38 degrees with a stiff wind.  My fingers were wet and frozen.  Worth it.

Back on campus, the work had started in the sculpture studio.  This is a cool non-traditional student I had this semester who was a joy to work with.  She was auditing the class and had ideas of things she wanted to make and my job was simply to assist her.  This is not how I teach but given the situation, I decided this was the best way to offer something to her.  She made me smile every day she was there and I hope she will audit my class again.  She hugged me on her last day.  Very cool.

These two (inside the steel sculpture) were a hoot as well.  They shared a class time with another section but they worked on their own and made cool things.  The weirdness of the studio time allowed us to try things we wouldn't normally attempt.  It's always fun when they try things that shouldn't work and succeed.  

And these two.  Both were BFA seniors and both had a plan for their show.  They worked together and helped each other out.  I mostly let the BFA students run wild (within some small barricades) and they did amazing work.

Violet wanted to go hiking on a cold day.  We picked a good one to hike to Rainbow Falls.  Lots of ice around that day.  Zeke had a great time as well.

Speaking of Violet, she was in an angry mob.  The angry mob was a part of her school's production of Beauty and the Beast.  

Back at school, Kennedy started her semester-long project idea of carving torsos.  

Molo, Katie and Molo's kid visited.

And on 2/22/22, someone decided we should all wear tutus so we did.  And we made some photos before frolicking on the front lawn.

I think that brings us to Spring Break.  I drew for a couple of days and then did a few workshops for high schools in the area.  At Lexington High one of my workshop attendees just happened to be one of my former students from Winthrop ages ago.  Allison was a cool student.  She once told me I looked young.  That's how you get your professor to remember you for 15 years!

And I always jump at a chance to see Stan.  He invited me to do a workshop for his people at Walhalla High and I got to see him AND Jarecki!  Then I got to see Robin and the new puppy whose name I just forgot.  Sorry Stan.

And a moment that deserves it's own separate post, Cessquatch and I both set aside our introverted tendencies long enough to agree to meet for coffee.  She and I got along great when she was a student and though it's been several years since we've seen each other, we picked up right where we left off.  This photo was the most accurate depiction of our time together.  We sipped our fancy teas and laughed hysterically for hours before Starbucks finally kicked us out.  Good times.

Timmy got his weird lump removed from his chest.  He was a little angry for a while but he's all better now.

The Sculpture 3 class took a field trip to Greenville and did a cool workshop with Katie Poterala, another former Winthrop student who's doing cool things at her business MakeMade.

I ran a half marathon in Greenville and got a huge PR.  It was nice to run a race healthy for once.

Students started installing cool art on campus.  We got new concrete pads for sculptures this year and these were the first to use them.  That's Ana and her functional Chinese Lantern Lamp.

We did another cool field trip for Sculpture students to the Columbia Museum of Art.  The Rodins were cool and all, but these light/shadow sculptures were the real hit.  I took this photo.  I'm an artist.

This was the whole group.  Fun people.  I also took this photo.  Some ideas are better than others.

So apparently all this happened in about one week....I saw Old Crow Medicine Show at the Peace Center....

I got to take a real photo with Blue on Easter...

And I delivered a public sculpture to Charleston.  My great friend Dan (in the burgundy shirt) agreed to help me unload and install my sculpture.  Then we got to help Hana Jubran unload his red sculpture (above) and carry it across what had to be snake infested ground cover.

That's the kind of guy Dan is.  You need something?  All you need is a Dan.  He's happy to help.  And such a cool guy.  He let me eat lunch with him after we carried a couple of sculptures.  Dan is an amazing dad, musician, husband, friend and business owner.  Also, sculpture carrier.  Go find Dan and become his friend.  It's one of the best decisions you'll make.

Then it was time to install the BFA exhibits.  The students had their exhibits planned and I was the designated helper for the installation.  I drove a lot of art around that day.  Carried a lot too.  It was fun.

I also got to help hang things from the ceiling of this really old federal building.  That meant snooping through the attic, rafters, and abandoned rooms upstairs.  I also got to climb out the top of the cupola.  

The next day I had to drive to NC to uninstall a year long public sculpture exhibit.  Do you know what it looks like to uninstall a public sculpture?

This.  This is what it looks like.  

So then there was the whole BFA Exhibit.  Super great.  Talent and skill everywhere.  These people are awesome and they wowed the town.  

Two days later, Victor's massive alien dinosaur decided to take a nap on the floor.  Given the situation and the pressure to get it fixed within 24 hours, things went very well.  The sculpture was back up by the end of the day.

I also got to teach the MFA students in the Intermedia class this semester.  They really stretched and did some cool explorations and I'm really proud of the work they produced and especially of what they learned.  This is Emily's blanket fort installation.

We like to celebrate students and have a little fun too.  We had our spring party to honor our seniors and this year's theme was creative hats.  The night ended with a crazy conga line that moved around the city block following Holloway with his rolling speaker.  Very fun.

The Sculpture Deathmatch was next.  Tons of fun.  There's a whole post about it.  Keep scrolling.

I had tickets to see Willie Nelson a few years back and the tour was canceled for health reasons.  I saw he was touring again this year and coming really close to my house.  Violet had no idea who Willie Nelson was but she wanted to go with me.  I had been toying with the idea of getting a cowboy hat for a few weeks and this concert seemed like a great excuse.  We drove to Tractor Supply, made some strong choices and then headed to the concert.

Turns out Violet did know Willie's music.  I wouldn't call myself a "fan" really, but I love good music and Willie is a legendary songwriter and a dang good musician.  It was great to see him perform.

Ok, we're almost done, I promise.  Just hang in there a few more minutes.  I forgot this one and now it's out of order by a month or so, but I also got to pour plaster for the freshmen again this year.  I covered this one in a previous post as well but it's here for the historical record.

Then it was time for people to graduate.  I had these three in classes for all 4 years.  The "Fun Girls" was what I called them because they were always laughing and having a good time.  

I had ECoop all 4 years too.  We even had a Covid semester together where basically what we did was eat my mom's leftover Christmas candies until quarantine.

It's impossible to get all the graduates in the same photo on graduation day, but this was a lot of them.  

And I was adopted by the Santos family.  I also had Victor all 4 years and he is hilarious.  His family is also great and they have treated me like royalty since their Open House tour.  It was nice to be formally adopted, even if it was just for graduation day.  Soon Victor will be gainfully employed and will have whole new group to entertain daily.  

Last thing.  That sculpture Dan was kind enough to help me carry?  Right after graduation I found out it won an Honorable Mention in the exhibit.  Sweet.  

Oh, and sometime in there I was promoted to Full Professor.  That was nice.

So it was a hard year and a long year.  But it was a good year.  I am grateful for having such wonderful experiences with students and so many great opportunities to show my work.  Summer break starts now.