As a gathering place for women, no single spot has reflected the change in the way women view themselves and their world more dramatically than the kitchen table. One local kitchen table in particular mirrors the shift away from gossip, in this case to spirituality and creativity.
From her seat at the kitchen table at the Fine Line Creative Arts Center near St. Charles, Beth Garrison, a volunteer and student from Wheaton, said, ”Gossip? Here? People would never think to do it. The Fine Line raises us all to a higher plane. People here are so eager to share in the spirit and to give something back.”
Jan Comerford of St. Charles added, ”We find an emotional or creative something here we didn`t know was lacking.”
The center, housed in a restored barn west of the Fox River, is a very unusual place. Breaking the prairie horizon, the structure appears as a huge ship upon the Illinois landscape. It holds a dream that takes its form in the awakening and nurturing of the creative spirit within the people who come here to visit and study.
The world is hungry for artistic expressions of the spirit. Within each person lies creative energy.
The mission statement of the center speaks of a social need that is keenly felt by its founders. The evolution of the Fine Line, from its beginnings as a gallery to its present as a learning center, runs parallel with the life of its director, Denise Kavanagh, Sister of St. Francis.
After a career of 20 years teaching junior high students, Kavanagh left her job as a principal and enrolled at Northern Illinois University in De Kalb to do graduate studies in art. ”I wanted to learn to weave, but every time I found a class, it was full.” She had no idea how she would eventually use her training in art education, but she said simply, ”Something always happens.” The religious order of which Kavanagh is a member has a long history of serving God by responding to societal needs. In the 1870s, social work, in the forms of teaching and nursing, was the focus of the order. During recent years, new needs have presented themselves. In response to those needs, the work of the order has changed. The order encourages the sisters to cultivate their individual gifts to further share themselves with others. This concept of sharing self with a larger community is central to their work.
With this in mind, one of the sisters asked Kavanagh to run a gallery representing the artwork of the nuns. The Fine Line Gallery opened in nearby Geneva in 1979. Kavanagh had a loom in the back of the gallery. One day a visitor asked about the availability of weaving lessons.
A new ministry was founded. Kavanagh said, ”We began to see a ministry develop of helping adults identify their creative power.”
Because of the growing numbers of people coming to take lessons, the gallery ran out of space. A new location was found a few blocks away on the ground floor of an older home. With the move, the Fine Line shifted from its existence as a gallery to becoming a place where people could come to get in touch with their own creativity. Alyce Van Acker, a Dominican nun who is an artist and teacher, and Judy Niemet, a Sister of Mercy and also an artist, lent their talents and the Fine Line became a learning center.
Release of creative energy enhances self-esteem. Awareness of creative power enables people to improve their lives and the lives of those they touch. Thus stated, the philosophy of the center identifies a connection that appeared either to be lost or never developed in the numbers who come for art instruction. Talking about her work as a teacher of creative expression through her medium of weaving, Kavanagh commented that the creative flow is negated in peoples` lives: ”Whether they lose touch early on, as children, or sometime later, I don`t know. We don`t see such a dramatic response in children because children don`t allow us to see. Adults are so responsive. They come because they want to learn.”
Kavanagh speaks about the people, women in particular, who, at the onset of their classes, make the declaration, ”I have no talent. I`m not creative.” The teacher counters such disparaging remarks with the statement, ”If you can count to four, you can learn to weave.” Kavanagh asks her pupils to consider their day-to-day aesthetic outlets such as interior decorating, meal planning or the simple act of bringing flowers into their homes.
”Creative opportunities help peoples` self-image,” Kavanagh said. ”We are all hungry for experiences which help us feel better about ourselves.”
Realizing the importance of each individual`s need to celebrate and articulate creativity, Fine Line is dedicated to opening the gates within each who comes to learn.
The value of the artisitic experience is not only personal but has ramification which affect family and community life.
By 1986, the Fine Line once again needed larger space. The search for adequate quarters ended when the staff found a barn for sale. The new site was not just a barn but the magnificently renovated Twin Silos, west of St. Charles. Converted from use as a home for livestock, associated manure and farm equipment, to the home for a physician and his family, Twin Silos was perfectly appointed for use as an arts center.
Aside from its size, 8,500 square feet, the structure itself qualifies for awards in architectural design. The interior had been sandblasted to clean and beautiful wooden beams, floors had been carpeted and tiled, and the roof opened with skylights. The barn had been transformed into a place of incredible beauty.
Since its relocation, the Fine Line has continued to evolve as a place of creative activity. This past year the center accommodated 900 students in over 18 different classes taught by 15 to 18 part-time teachers. Students travel from as far away as Wisconsin, Indiana and Iowa. The classes range from weaving, spinning, dying, knitting, crochet and stitchery to pottery, basketry, painting and papermaking.
Coupled with the varied curriculum are retreats and special exhibits featuring the works of nationally and internationally acclaimed artists. The administrative staff has been enhanced by the work of Geraldine McGovern, Sister of St. Francis, who is business and facility manager, and Peter Julian Werner, computer systems and graphic artist.
”We have built up a community of women and men who have touched into networking which provides support for each other,” Kavanagh said. ”We cannot be a place like this without the dimension of volunteers. These are the people who spread and foster the spirit of the Fine Line.”
By placing people in touch with their creativity, and more subtly perhaps, with their spirituality, the dimension of volunteers at Fine Line has evolved.
Prophetically, perhaps, the words from the ”Songs of the Four Winds,”
presented at the opening of the center in 1986, describe the unfolding of another aspect: ”Bless this place, Spirit of the North, as you touch the people who will gather here in the coming months. Give us the gift of patience and hope in this winter season. Let us be especially patient with ourselves as we search for ways to live creatively.”
Leslie Freeland of Crystal Lake, another student, volunteer and voice heard from around the kitchen table at Fine Line, elaborated. ”A year ago, when Denise became seriously ill, we all wanted to do something to help, to do something besides sending flowers. There is a common thread here. People each find their own way to help.”
Garrison, Comerford and Freeland, joined by Carol Mudloff of Bloomingdale and Rosie Dixon of Wheaton, put their heads together to see what could be done. ”We saw a need we were able to fill. We took on some of the
responsibilities of running the center by doing things like answering the phones or waiting on customers in the shop or taking care of visitors, opening the mail . . . There are so many, many volunteers, all wanting to help in what ever way the can,” Mudloff added. Dixon said simply, ”We find out what`s best in ourselves while we bring out our creativity. That kind of interaction is available here.”
Octogenarian Fine Line student Mary Fyfe of Woodstock observed: ”In many ways, we`re all volunteers here. The welcome, caring kind of atmosphere is something we want to keep going. And our community is expanding. I drive 35 miles to get here, but that is a small distance compared to the journey others make.”
From painting walls and unpacking boxes in the center`s shop to applying makeup at a recent fashion show that featured Fine Line artists` hand-made garments, the army of volunteers speaks of the excited response in communities surrounding the Fine Line.
Aristic experiences are intergral to the quality of life in our communities.
A closing thought of the Fine Line mission statement touches on an important aspect of the curriculum:
The center will provide an atmosphere for releasing and channeling creative energies. The goal of our curriculum will be to provide good instruction, valuable learning experiences and quality leisure activities for the public we serve.
Courses at the center are not for academic credit. ”There is already too much stress in our society,” Kavanagh said. ”The center is place for people to come to peace with themselves. The courses enhance that. Our teachers want to share their gifts and provide an atmosphere of tranquility.”
Heather Winslow, teacher of weaving, passing the kitchen table on her way to class, said, ”Sharing is such an important aspect. Anyone who comes here can feel that they have received some kind of an answer-technical, theoretical or creative. I find self coming here sometimes, and I don`t know why.”
Perhaps, another blessing from the ”Song of the Four Winds” holds the answer. ”Bless this place, Spirit of the West, as you bring us to the end of our days here. Give us the gift of satisfaction in work well done, and joyful anticipation of what lies ahead in our creative journey.”
