BRATTLEBORO — Gazing over the Connecticut River to a looming Wantastiquet Mountain, outside the window of the River Gallery School, I listened to Ric Campman waxing philosophical about creativity, art, and being present in the moment.
As a teacher, Ric was always present with his encouragement while he created a space for his special brand of art mentoring. We would have a meditative dialogue until my mind quieted and l settled back to my canvas to explore light, form, and paint.
I always found the results a surprise, as I had little prior experience in painting other than a session in sequencing, a new approach to painting developed by the River Gallery School.
As Ric explained it to me in a 2002 newspaper interview, the technique uses the neurological theory of a one-half-second delay between the conscious mind/body movement and the intent of the unconscious. By painting three times in quick succession on three sheets of paper, unconscious creativity can be tapped before the conscious mind gets in the way.
Thanks to Ric and a school full of art teachers creating a sacred space for all students - novice or experienced, old and young alike - the most important thing I discovered was my creative relationship with myself. Creativity and art have been part of the human experience for thousands of years, and the act of art-making connects us to our ancestors painting in caves.
I first met Ric by interviewing him for a newspaper article marking his 27 years of joyful art-making. It was intense listening, trying to absorb the essence of his “making is knowing” philosophy of teaching art.
Later one summer, I invited the school's landscape class to Scott Farm, and I found a new way of seeing the landscape and painting what I love: barns, stone walls, apple trees, and the pond. The added bonus was painting outdoors, despite the challenges of wind, rain, and changes in light - and the occasional loose pig at the farm. Always a surprise!
A year later, I wrote another article. This time it was about a fundraising celebration, a valentine for Ric, that brought a community of artists together to support him with his medical expenses as a result of a long-term illness - an illness that he did not let interfere with his teaching for as long as he could.
Along with dozens of paintings for sale, letters honored his mentorship and compassion as a teacher. He touched so many artists - new and evolving, professional and longstanding, in the Brattleboro area and from beyond.
As artist Jim Giddings put it so succinctly: “Who among us could stand so selflessly apart from his own troubles to help the rest of us in this shared experience? It's Ric, of course, whose vision has always been compassion and truth born in a brushstroke.”
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It's been nearly a decade since Ric Campman's death, and River Gallery School has since moved across and down the street from its old art spaces to its current home overlooking the Whetstone Brook.
For years, I couldn't go into the new RGS space, because I missed Ric and the view of mountain and river. But the current school has a new slant of light, and the sound of rushing water from the Whetstone brings fresh energy to the school and the budding artists there. And, if you look for it, you can still glimpse the granite-gray Connecticut River flowing in the distance.
Ric would appreciate the school's decision to move into the old Wilder Building. You can feel his spirit breathing the watery air off the brook.