Olaf Growald
Go to work, go home, get lost in a hobby — like the rest of us, even the biggest names in Fort Worth’s business community need relief from their day jobs. For some, that relief comes in the form of making art — a therapeutic escape from the pressures of the corporate world.
Perhaps few organizations understand that better than The Art Station, a nonprofit that provides art therapy to struggling children, teens and adults. Every year, the organization calls upon community leaders and local celebrities — folks not necessarily known for their paintings or sculptures — to create artwork to be auctioned off during The Art Station’s signature fundraiser, Public Figures, Private Artists.
This year’s event, held on Oct. 15, showcased all sorts of pieces, from leather goods to metalwork — even surprising some participants who have just recently discovered their inner artisan.
Olaf Growald
Bob and Nancy Mitchell
Day Jobs: Executive Recruiter, WhitneySmith Company (Bob); Assistant Director of Safe Environment for the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth (Nancy)
Art: Painting (Bob), sewing (Nancy)
Work sold for: Bob’s painting for $225, Nancy’s jacket for $1,750
Photograph: Olaf Growald
The home of Bob and Nancy Mitchell — husband and wife and longtime supporters of The Art Station — is a bit like an art museum in itself, with décor ranging from abstract sculptures to blown glass.
For the Mitchells, art is a pleasant diversion from their day jobs. While Nancy has been sewing for years, Bob only discovered his knack for painting through participation with The Art Station.
This year’s event saw Nancy contributing a handmade leather jacket with Italian wool lining inside. Bob contributed a painting titled “Contemplation Above the Red Beach,” a scene from the couple’s trip to Santorini.
“My daily life is not generally quiet,” Bob says, “so swatches of time focused on a quiet process is calmingly impactful. Because I am creating in usually very pleasant surroundings, at home or in exotic places, the activity and the venues mutually reinforce an almost Zen state
of mind.”
Olaf Growald
Mike Micallef
Day Job: President of Reata
Art: Welding
Work sold for: $2,000
Photograph: Olaf Growald
At first, Mike Micallef’s welding skills extended as far as making repairs on his ranch or building something functional, like a barbecue pit. The president of upscale Southern restaurant Reata, often seen in a button-up and cowboy hat, enjoys trading his typical uniform for a ratty long-sleeve shirt and red welder’s cap and sending sparks flying out from his garage.
Micallef hadn’t really thought of his hobby as an art until The Art Station approached him about submitting work for Public Figures, Private Artists. If he had an artistic side, Micallef says, it’s in photography, capturing scenes in the wild during hunting and fishing trips. But last year, Micallef saw his metal fish sculpture earn $1,250 for The Art Station.
“Going to the auction last year and seeing how my sculpture performed … it’s like affirmation that I created something that other people enjoy too,” he says.
This year, Micallef submitted another sculpture — a tarpon fish, complete with scales made of spoons and a fly in the fish’s mouth.
“The hardest thing for me is not trying to be too exact, trying to be a bit more artistic,” Micallef says. “My personality is being very exact and wanting it to be perfect. But you need to step back and say, ‘Hey, this is art’ … I try to make something that somebody would enjoy in their home, that lets them imagine.”
Olaf Growald
Jason Boone
Day Job: Asset Management QA Lead at DFW Airport
Art: Knifemaking, leatherwork
Work sold for: $375
Photograph: Olaf Growald
Jason Boone makes knives — he just can’t bring them to work at DFW Airport. Yes, his coworkers know about his atypical hobby, but if anybody wants one of his knives, he’ll have to give it to them off-property.
“It’s funny because from the time I was 10 or so, [ever since] Dad gave me my first pocketknife, I had a knife in my pocket,” he says. “Then I worked for the airport. Guess what? I can’t carry a pocketknife anymore.”
It was Boone’s father who inspired him to start making knives, albeit posthumously. Not long after his father’s death about seven years ago, Boone found his father’s old toolbox full of metal files. With a little help from YouTube and the Texas Knifemakers Guild, Boone attempted to make his first knife. “It turned out decent,” he says, so he decided to make more for family and friends.
Boone continues to make hunting knives and leather sheaths, but he doesn’t take orders, saying he’d rather keep knifemaking a hobby — it’s more fun that way.
“I’ve been out there until 2 o’clock in the morning, and all of a sudden, I’m like, ‘Well, I’ve got to go to work in about three or four hours. Let’s go to bed,’” he says. “I just like being out there and making a mess.”
Olaf Growald
Beverly Powell
Day Job: Texas State Senator
Art: Painting, singing
Work sold for: $500
Photograph: Olaf Growald
Politics is a tricky line of work, one often associated with conflict and divisiveness. State Sen. Beverly Powell says painting reminds her to keep her heart in the right place.
“That’s my philosophy working with people in the senate and people in our community,” she says. “If you can approach the work you do in leadership with grace and love in your heart, you will always get to the right decision about any issue.”
The “Lead With Love” series preceded Powell’s career as a state senator, with each painting defined by brightly colored brushstrokes that form the shape of a heart. For this year’s Public Figures, Private Artists event, however, she decided to throw in another not-so-hidden talent — her CD, “From My Heart to Yours,” which features Powell’s voice on tracks like “Amazing Grace” and “Wind Beneath My Wings.”
In December, she’ll be performing with an ensemble at WFAA’s Santa’s Helpers toy drive.