Breaking Ground 113 Arts - In Memoriam
We are dedicating space to honor two artists we lost in the past year. Both women contributed so much over the years to this magazine, including each being featured on the cover of past issues. They bettered Breaking Ground and our state through their artistic gifts. Both were long-time participants in the Healing Arts Project, Inc. (HAPI), which provides artistic opportunities for persons in mental health and addiction recovery to promote healing, community awareness, and inclusion. Please help us honor the lives and legacies of these two brilliant artists. They will be missed on these pages and far beyond.
Laura Hudson’s friends report that she started a new picture most mornings. She saw endless subjects that inspired her to create colorful, detailed pictures with people or animals that seemed alive. She wanted people to enjoy her art. Her bio in past Breaking Ground arts issues talked about how she used her art to travel anywhere in the world, with nature’s gifts of life and color as a common theme. Her preferred medium was bright, clear markers. In an article interview, Laura shared how art helped her mental health: “Making art gets rid of my depression because I have to make my drawings come to life.” Drawing took her to a happy place – and it took the rest of us there, too.
Kathy Tupper’s lifelong commitment was to honor the blessings she was given: intellectual curiosity, imagination, and the ability to use them. She studied artistic techniques and created art for more than 50 years, filling her life with color every day from the age of 3. She explored graphic design, illustration, and writing. “In the process of creating art, I am able to focus on one thing,” she once shared with Breaking Ground. “I am fascinated and exhilarated by the art I have made. How did I do that?!” Kathy shared her extensive knowledge as a watercolor design and techniques instructor in Nashville. She was a longtime emeritus volunteer at the Frist Art Museum and exhibited frequently at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center. Kathy’s work conveyed her curiosity about places, nature, and people. She gifted our community with a vision of hope and happiness that endures as her legacy.
