An athlete,
an artist,
a (journal published) scientist,
a hopeless romantic,
who wooed his Sally Lou for over 60 years,
father to four,
Grampa to many more,
was Norman Theodore Briggs.
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He was Grampa to me and was the first person to introduce me to the world of art.
My favorite birthday was the year he took me to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in D.C. After our guided tour (by portable cassette player with headphones no less!) he took me to the gift shop and let me pick out any print I wanted. I choose Renoir's Girl With a Watering Can. We went home and he disappeared into his basement (I never dared to venture down to that scary place) and emerged later with a handmade frame for my print.
That print hangs in my girls room today.
He always encouraged my attempts at making art. He hung one of my very first paintings in a prominent place in his house and I'll never forget the impression that made on me, that he deemed it worthy to be hung in his house. In college he would ask questions about my art classes and sincerely listen to my talking and was interested in my drawings.
He saw the world through the eyes of an artist, and it was apparent in the way he created things and arranged things.
Thank you Grampa, for first opening that door for me, for believing in my art, encouraging me, and for showing me how to find the beauty. You are missed.
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| The infamous birthday trip to the art museum. |
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