I realize that I have never actually given a link to the Climb 365 website.  

Please check it out, and follow me, along with four other amazing women as we each climb toward our goals over the next 365 days!

http://jlgwomensummit.org/climb-365-blog

Today I took my Art History students to the National Gallery of Art in order to actually see some of the artwork that they have been learning about all year.  I was so excited to lead them up to the Dying Gaul, an ancient Roman masterpiece carved out of marble and visiting the US for the first time.  There I was, leading them in an inspired conversation (If I do say so myself) about the fact that this Ancient Roman copy of an Ancient Greek sculpture was a watershed moment in the history of art because of its use of emotion and action. The Gaul was actually dying, not standing still with an archaic smile.   I was trying to get them to tell me that this was so important in the history of art because it was the first time that artists showed everyday people feeling real emotions. 

While asking my leading questions that would help the kids to answer in the way that would engage them in a meaningful conversation, I had one student raise her hand and ask:  “So this is a copy…. Right?  Wait… is it the real thing?”  I sort of laughed as I glanced around us at the ridiculously large amount of stern security guards who were clearly stationed around this piece to keep it safe and thought, “Wow! These kids don’t realize that they are in the presence of ‘real’ masterpieces.”  I think that in their overloaded lives of uploaded images and “reality” television, these teenagers didn’t expect to see the real art in front of them.  When they figured out that these were the actual masterpieces from Van Gogh, and Leonardo, Degas, and Monet and showed their excitement, I started to feel real emotions, too! It was so much fun to see them actually experience what they thought they couldn’t possibly have seen before:  actual masterpieces from the real artists.   

Having recently been chosen as one of the women in the Climb 365 Leadership Program, I believe that I can bring this same experience of discovering “real” art to many different types of people, from many different walks of life, and I am so excited to do it!

My passion for art has been a part of me since I can remember, but I first began to truly learn about and experience my real love of oil painting when I studied abroad for the first two summers that I was a young, struggling teacher.  I was able to live at home with my parents, so my “rent” checks went to paying for two amazing summers that I was able to spend abroad traveling, living, and learning to paint ‘en pleine air’ (out in the landscape).    Painting in two countries where I did not fluently speak the language, was and always will be one of the most unique and amazing experiences that I have ever had.  I was able to experience a culture and a foreign place in such a way that made both San Miguel, Mexico and Sorrento, Italy become like home to me. 

Painting for an entire day on a street corner, or in the middle of a market place, or even on the beach dock with Mario (the eccentric Italian life guard who gabbed the day away about his “crazy” night at the clubs) really helped me to absorb, witness, and fall in love with the life that flourishes in these places.  I remember painting near a park in San Miguel and a couple of cute little Mexican girls who spoke no English came up to me.  Through my broken Spanish and their sheer curiosity about why the heck I was out on the street painting, the three of us really bonded.  In no time, I had them holding my brushes and helping me paint the scene that was laid out in front of us.  I still look at that painting and smile when I think of them glopping the green paint onto my canvas and then my having to try and make something out of it after they had left.  I loved every second of the time that I spent painting abroad.  My experiences were so varied and taught me so much.   I can remember literally being overrun by goats on the side of a rugged cliff in Mexico firmly trying to hold onto my easel while they swept past.  On not-so-similar cliffs in Italy, I was able to paint a bird’s eye view of the gorgeously colored laundry that was strewn about the little town of Piano di Sorrento on the Amalfi coast while young Italian lovers made out on a park bench nearby.  I can often remember being humbled by the sheer beauty of nature such as the daily evening San Miguel thunderstorms that rolled over the mountains toward my terrace where I  had set up shop and feverishly tried to complete quick little storm paintings before I got soaked.  I learned so much about painting and capturing the feeling of a place or a scene, but more than anything I learned a lot about myself and my own life experiences through the eyes of the people and the places where I lived and travelled.  

After those two summers of painting abroad I decided that there was no denying it.  I needed to further pursue my passion for painting.  So during my third year of teaching middle school Art I sent out applications for graduate programs and was accepted into the Maryland Institute College of Art’s Post-Baccalaureate program.  I was ready to move to the city and pursue my dreams as a painter full time! During the years leading up to this, my mother had been diagnosed with cancer and, tragically, she died before I left for graduate school.  My mother and I were extremely close.  She was my soul mate and biggest support, so with such a life altering event affecting my entire world, my work as an artist began to change, too. 

I started the Post-Baccalaureate program and began painting large “empty” canvases. They were mainly white, all 5 feet 6 inches tall. The height my mother had been.  They occupy the same amount of space that she had physically taken up in the world.  Within each white canvas is an object that had meant something to her that she left behind.  This idea of still life and objects evolved into paintings of things that people had left behind.  I began painting scenes where it looked like someone had just left the room, or just left something on a table, etc.  I fell in love with painting still life and how it could embody the portrait of someone.  So, I started an entire series of paintings called my “cocktail” series in which I painted all of the bottles of pills, vitamins, medicines, and perfumes or daily cosmetics that people might use in a day; thus displaying the “cocktail” that made up the person’s portrait.  

While doing these paintings I also found it really interesting to paint scenes of “daily rituals” that seemed similar in idea to the cocktail paintings. I painted people performing their daily routines in mirrors that they might not want the world to see.  I loved the idea of letting the viewer exist in an intimate, slightly awkward space with the subject of the painting; thus forcing the viewer to reflect upon his or her own daily rituals that they may not want exposed.  

Fully inspired by this subject, I continued my study at M.I.C.A. to obtain my Master of Fine Arts.  In my final year I had to produce a thesis show with a large and very well developed body of work.  Building upon my previous paintings, I examined the unceremonious moments we share with those closest to us, rather than just ourselves.  I created portraits of people, frozen in mid-thought or conversation, completely at ease, creating gestures that would only be familiar to those who intimately existed with them.  I wanted to take fleeting moments of life and make them huge, permanent, unavoidable and lasting into perpetuity.  

The experience that I had during the years of my life when I studied painting abroad and attended graduate school were the most rich years of artistic creation that I have had.  Now, seven years later, with the added daily stresses of my full time teaching job, being a mother and taking care of a house, I understand the longing that so many women artists must feel when life takes over and their creative artistic passion falls second, third, or even fourth to life’s daily demands.  It is this desire and need to connect with others in a creative environment that has driven me to pursue my dream of starting my own artistic business and art center in my area. 

                I am so excited to begin this adventure and have you along on this journey with me!  I am ready to make art “real” for non-artists and artists alike.  I look forward to the day when I can stand in the middle of my art center, having just stepped out of my own studio, or maybe the studio of a fellow artist, and welcome guests into the gallery or classrooms where they, too, will be able to experience what a real, creative, and thriving artistic environment can provide in terms of education and exposure to new and different ideas.  This way members of the community can learn to experience art in a way that isn’t just on their computer screens or TVs.  They can interact with real artists who are successful in the business. They can attend shows of artists from across the nation who will provide exposure to unique points of view different from those in our local community.  They can also create their own art and experiment with new and different techniques in classes or workshops that will enrich their lives as much as living and learning through the study of art has enriched my own.  

Here is the first Blog Post that I had to write introducing myself and my goal for the Climb 365 Leadership Program through the Greensboro Junior League.  This is such an exciting and amazing opportunity for me and I will continue to copy my climb 365 posts to this site so that I can share them with people who are interested in my work!   #climb365  

My Name is Rebecca Bourne Graham. I am an Artist, a Teacher, and a wife and mother of two crazy kids. I live in Markham, located in Fauquier County, Virginia, where I recently moved back into the mid-1800s farmhouse that I grew up in, and that has been in my family ever since it was built. In my daily life, while I live in the country and deal with all of the interesting things that an old family home and country life provide, I commute a short distance to the suburbs of Washington DC where I teach Art and Art History to high school students in Haymarket, VA.

Over the past few years of living this life as a “Glam Pioneer” (coined by my besties) I have noticed that my Artistic needs are not being met. I find myself putting my own creative passions to the side simply because taking care of a two and a five year old and trying to keep up with my job leave me exhausted at the end of each day when I would normally retreat to my studio and crank out some meaningful artwork. Thus, I am unable to carve out the time for my own artistic endeavors. I think that there is and has always been something inside of me that feels the need to make a larger impact on my local community. And that, my friends, is where the Climb 365 application and initiative has come in and motivated me to really think beyond my daily routine and strive to be more, because I know that I can and will one day make a bigger impact on this world around me. In essence, the Climb 365 program is going to be a great way to rock my world, and hopefully allow me to rock the world of those around me.

My goal is to begin a two part Art Business. I would initially like to create my own business similar to the “Wine and Painting” classes that are quickly growing in popularity these days. I would however, like to expand on that idea by making a program where Art and Art Production could be accessible to all seekers. I would like to have adult classes, but also children’s programs and intergenerational family programs that will inspire the average person to dabble in the arts. This business could but doesn’t necessarily require me to obtain a building or space in which I will host the classes and events. I envision being able to take this concept to local vineyards and wineries, community centers, or churches where I could rent space, but also to individual people’s homes where they might want to host an “art party”. These “Wine and Painting” programs could serve as a relaxed, non-threatening way for non-artists to learn about and pursue artistic endeavors that they might otherwise be nervous to do. This will also help me to learn about this demographic of the population and I can use the knowledge I gain from this experience in order to tailor the educational programs in the Art Center that I would like to create in the second part of my goal.

The second half of my goal is where this all gets a little bigger, and a little trickier to pull off, but this is where I will make much more of a difference in my local community. As I said before, in my daily life out here in rural Virginia, I have noticed and felt the need for some sort of connection not only to my own Art but to that of other Artists’ as well. As part of my teaching career, I am a professor through Virginia Commonwealth University’s Graduate Masters in Interdisciplinary Studies Program. Through this program I teach graduate level painting classes to Art teachers, as well as practicing artists in the field. Every time I teach one of my courses, the students and I inevitably state that we all wish we could continue beyond the structure of the college semester. We all agree that it is so exciting to have time specifically to work and interact with and critique other artists, and lament the fact that there is no forum with which to do this out in our area. My goal is to create an Art Center that will do just this.

I want to find a space and create an Art Center that not only will provide the much needed haven for these artists but also provide a similar access to art for the non-artist who just wants to learn more. Without incorporated towns and flowing tax dollars, there isn’t a convenient outlet for this for miles around. I envision creating a building that has studio spaces for artists to rent, as well as classroom spaces for education, and a gallery space for art exhibitions. The individual studio spaces will be open to the public so that the artists can share their work and creativity with anyone who wants to see it. The classrooms will provide space for educational programs for all types of groups from senior citizens, to supplemental programing for the local public school system, to home-school students, or even preschool programs. They will also be where I can host the “Wine and Art” classes and events for local groups and citizens interested in a relaxing and fun night learning about art. The gallery space within the building will not only host exhibitions and celebrations of what the artists and students within the center have created, but it will also provide a space for any artist to apply for juried exhibitions and solo exhibitions in order to promote their own work.

I know this is lofty, but once my Art Center takes off, I can envision, down the road, hosting guest Artists and speakers, or organizing bus trips for local people to go to Art Museums in DC, Philadelphia, New York, and beyond. I would also love to keep one of the studio space rentals open and possibly free for art teachers in the public school system who are just looking for a space to work on nights, weekends, and over the summer. I can even envision educational programming based out of the center that could involve groups that travel to national or international locations for classes. An example of this could be a 2 week or month long plein air painting class in San Miguel, Mexico, or in the Southwest of the United States… the possibilities are endless.

I am completely passionate about Art and would like to make it accessible to anyone. I truly believe that by creating an Art Center like this I would not only be supporting my fellow artists, as well as future artists but I would be adding a level of culture and enrichment to my local community and beyond. Come with me on my journey while I see if my dream can actually be realized!

Check out the Press release from the Junior League of Greensboro.  They announced that I am one of the 5 honorees for the Climb 365 Initiative!  I am so excited to join four other talented and motivated women as we all work towards our goals!!

> CLIMB 365 INITIATIVE HONOREES ANNOUNCED

> 5 Women Selected for 365 Day Leadership Journey Announced at Leadership Conference.
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> GREENSBORO, NC: Five women selected to participate in the Climb 365 Initiative were announced Friday April 4th at the Annual Women’s Leadership Summit, a day-long leadership development conference, hosted by the Junior League of Greensboro (JLG). The Climb 365 Initiative is sponsored by the Junior League of Greensboro in partnership with the Center for Creative Leadership.
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> Over the next 365 days, 5 winning applicants will work with CCL staff to navigate their leadership journey. They will share their leadership challenges and successes on the Climb 365 blog, hosted on the JLGWomenSummit.org website. The 5 applicants will receive personal coaching sessions from CCL staff as well as a leadership course co-designed by CCL and JLG.
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> The Honorees and their 365 Day Goals are:
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> Rebecca Graham - Markham, VA. A recently relocated artist, Rebecca will share her journey of creating a two-part art business and making art accessible in a small community.
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> Molly K. Paul – Raleigh, NC. A sophomore in high school, Molly will journal her efforts to take STEM education and leadership training to students across the nation.
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> Heather Neal - Greensboro, NC. A young mother, Heather will take the next 365 days to create an online “village” of support for moms who are seeking revenue-generating outlets and discuss the journey to create such a space. 
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> Emma Vogelsinger – Greensboro, NC. This inspiring singer will use her efforts to release her first album to empower and inspire others to believe in their dreams and take on the risk that is to pursue that dream.
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> Peg Hall Williams - Greensboro, NC.  A storyteller at heart, Peg will use the physical journey of hiking the 1,000 mile Mountains to Sea Trail to find her writer’s voice and draft a manuscript.
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> Honorees can be followed at jlgwomensummit.org
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> About the Junior League of Greensboro:
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> The Junior League of Greensboro is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable. For more information about the Junior League of Greensboro, please call 336.852.5542 or visit our website at www.juniorleagueofgreensboro.org.
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