克拉克·汉斯巴格:一个讲故事的人的弧线

9/20/2018

Helen Cudahy Niblack ' 42艺术系列讲座

在周二的会议上, 威尼斯彩票游戏社区欢迎克拉克·汉斯巴格, a local teacher, author, musician, and songwriter as the third guest in our series on the theme “Inspired by Storytelling,作为海伦·库达希·尼布莱克42年艺术系列讲座的一部分. 发挥他作为讲故事大师和教师的天赋, Clark wrapped lessons about narrative arcs and recursive narratives within the personal story of his lifetime. His sense of humor put everyone at ease — and kept everyone engaged — as he welcomed his audience with, “I’m retired now. 你不必叫我. Hansbarger. You can call me Clark.他从结尾开始讲他的故事, introducing the community to his wife (and Foxcroft alumna) Ginger Reuling ‘77 and the birdhouses they build and sell, the houses he rehabs, the band he plays with, and his grandchild.

然后他又把我们带回到起点. His beginning. 我们回到了他在加99499威尼斯信誉林米尔斯的童年时代, WV, 当他开始被他的过去所困扰. His story of finding his mother weeping in the dark on the anniversary of his Uncle Leonard’s death — an uncle he didn’t even know he had — captivated his audience. He was just a young boy of six at the time and he struggled to understand his mother's grief, 他叔叔的死因, 以及这对他家庭的影响. 虽然他当时并没有意识到, unraveling the mystery of this one incident put him on the path toward a life of telling stories. “这促使我开始提出问题,” he says, “I wanted to know about my family… I ended up writing most of my fiction about these guys, 我让他们成为虚构的人物, 但这就是我写的——我的家庭和我的过去.”

He married young, while he was a student at George Washington University. After graduation, 他开始在华盛顿的伍德森高中教英语, 但在裁员期间被解雇了. He moved out to Loudoun County and started teaching during the day and playing in a band at night. 当他的孩子出生时，一切都变得“真实”起来, and Clark buckled down, 专注于他的教学工作，放弃乐队. But he started to write. At first, 只是些教育杂志的文章, but then he decided to get a master's in writing as much for the increase in salary that it afforded him as a teacher as for his desire to write. By sheer luck, 乔治梅森大学的艺术硕士项目, 他选择哪个是因为位置方便, 结果有一个出色的创意写作项目.

Getting his first short story, “The Victory Garden,” published in The Gettysburg Review 这是他人生和叙事的高潮吗. 虽然细节和人物不同, 本质上讲的是他叔叔伦纳德和他母亲的故事. He credits this story with being the one that helped him find his voice. 这个故事一发表, others followed, as did awards such as National Endowment for the Arts and Virginia Commission for the Arts creative writing fellowships, 并在美国大学任教. “I got a nice tweed jacket! I was somebody!” But then, as Clark had foreshadowed, his narrative arc took a downturn: the stories stopped coming.

The next chapter of Clark's life was filled with highs, lows, and plateaus. He returned to teaching high school English, this time for the IB program at Clarke County High. 然后，正如他所说，他“又一头扎了进去”.” He coached, was a scout leader, 参与社区活动, 虽然他并没有创造太多, he was pretty happy. Then, after 30 years, his marriage fell apart, and he and his wife divorced. It was hard for awhile, but the creative urge returned and he began to create again.

他最终再婚了，娶了我们之前见过的金吉尔. An artist herself (and a Fox), they build and sell birdhouses at garden shows around the country. 音乐和歌曲创作也卷土重来. Clark’s band, The Bitter Liberals, 在附近的小剧场演出, and their playlist includes songs written by Clark and other bandmates. He’s writing again, too, working on a novel, and he’s rehabbing houses. 他和金吉一有机会就去旅行, rescue dogs (they currently have four but have had as many as seven), 认真对待祖父母的角色, too. He brought us back again to the present where the arc is quite high. 希望它能保持这种状态!

最后，他给与会者提出了以下睿智的建议:

Stay busy. 保持好奇心，学习一切，无论是在学校还是在外面. Particularly out.
投入时间，坚持下去. 一万个小时，直到你可以说自己是专家.
去旅行，保持开放的心态. Bring a toothbrush.
失败，然后重新站起来，再失败，直到失败.
Spend time with all sorts of people … and respect all as people you can learn from.
Trust yourself. You might as well ... 这是你唯一的自我.
Be both humble and bold.
享受生活，心怀感激.
Life is a struggle. Everybody struggles; it is hard. 拥抱它，勇敢地奋斗.
生活的目的就是目的. Find yours. 如果你不忙，那就忙起来. 要意识到你的目标可能会随着生活的变化而改变.

After his presentation, Clark held a workshop for several budding songwriters in the student body. The girls brought lyrics and music that they were working on and began collaborating. Julia G. 《99499威尼斯信誉》的旋律忧郁但优美，还有《99499威尼斯信誉》. 《威尼斯彩票游戏》有几句歌词，后来成了副歌. Courtney B. ’20 fleshed out a few verses, with Clark on the guitar and Julia on guitar and piano. Jennifer C. 21年致力于音乐，将小提琴融入其中. It all came together quite quickly, and the result was pretty remarkable. Click here to listen to a recording.

“My experience in the songwriting workshop was amazing,” Julia says. “虽然我以前写过很多歌, this gave me a different perspective on the theory of songwriting and how it flows.”

Marina agrees, “The songwriting workshop with Clark was incredible! 我以前从未参加过歌曲创作工作坊, 但我一直对写歌很感兴趣. 他的工作坊非常有趣，也非常有帮助. 我紧张地走了进去，不知道会发生什么, 但最后我们写了一整首歌并录了下来!"

正如考99499威尼斯信誉尼所证明的那样，克拉克让它变得有趣而迷人. “和克拉克一起工作非常有趣! Before Tuesday, 我没有写歌的经验, 但我觉得和他一起工作很舒服, 我们创造了一些惊人的东西. Clark was truly inspiring, and brought so much positive energy with him.”

当天早些时候，克拉克享受了一场自由自在的讨论. 林赛·奥康纳的《美国南方英语选修课, 谈到了像塔-内希斯·科茨这样的作家, Zora Neale Hurston, and Harper Lee, 还有南方的食物和身份. And later he enjoyed lunch with a few faculty and students who wanted to continue the conversation and ask questions.

The Helen Cudahy Niblack ' 42艺术系列讲座 was established by Austi Brown ’73 in memory of her mother. Since it began in 2007, 系列带来了多种文学, performing, 和优秀的艺术家来威尼斯彩票游戏分享他们的作品, stories, and perspective on the nature of the creative process with both students and the larger community. One of the goals of the Niblack series is to provide an artist with the opportunity to share their artistic journey in a comfortable and familiar setting, creating space for an exchange of ideas that just might inspire a Foxcroft girl or two to chase her own artistic dreams.

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克拉克·汉斯巴格:一个讲故事的人的弧线

Niblack访问艺术家Clark Hansbarger的演讲:第一部分

Niblack访问艺术家Clark Hansbarger的演讲:第二部分

歌曲创作工作坊与Niblack艺术家克拉克汉斯巴格