BJC Today article on Tributaries

BJC TODAY
July 2003

Living on through art
Show to celebrate hospice patient’s lifelong love
By Karen Stewart
785 words

Jim Wells is dying. You can see it in the slow way he moves, in the way he leans on his cane, in the pallor of his face. But Jim Wells is alive and energized by the fulfillment of a lifelong dream - a showing of his art at one of St. Louis’ hottest galleries.

His dream is coming about through almost impossible circumstances, in a manner where you know it was meant to be. He happened to mention his lifelong passion – making art. The art gallery happened to have an opening. A hospice volunteer happened to have an interest in art and worked to put it together.

BJC Hospice volunteer Elizabeth Vega had been visiting with Wells, 59, for about a month. Vega had been working on his biography, which she gives to the patient and his or her family in a bound book as a memory project. During one interview, she discovered that Wells had always loved art, but had never had a show.

“I ask questions that make people think about their lives. Inevitably, there is a life task that was never completed,” Vega says.

“The idea of the show became a reality in less than a week. It was one of the most amazing brainstorming sessions I ever had. We decided to have a show at a gallery as a life celebration, but Jim didn’t think he had enough art. That’s when we thought of including Ashley’s work as well.”

Ashley, Well’s 15-year-old daughter, has always loved art. “If there is such thing as a hereditary gene in art, she has it. I’m thrilled we will be displayed at the same function,” Wells says.

Vega made some calls and found Mad Art Gallery, housed in a restored and converted 1930s art-deco police station in the Soulard area. Shows were booked until next spring, with one small window of opportunity. “The timing was uncanny,” Ron Buechele, gallery owner and St. Louis county police officer, says. “It made it really easy for us to say yes. This is the first time we have encountered being able to do this for someone as a last wish while time still remains.”

At their home, Wells and his wife Beverly are discussing whether or not to permanently part with any of the precious pieces. Each one is being evaluated as it is matted and framed as to whether they can bear to let it go. They decide there will be some pieces for sale.

They study a watercolor of a tree silhouetted along California’s coast that Wells painted while in high school, around the time that Time magazine named him one of the most promising young artists in the country. Empty hooks dangle on walls where other pieces already sent to the gallery used to hang.

Wells’ face lights up as he explains his art. He has always been independent, utilizing unusual materials and painting what he liked. He has been known to smear concrete on canvas to get the texture he was looking for. In the early days, he’d buy quarts of returned house paint and mix his own colors. He once carved a block of cedar his uncle had used to prop up his car.

As Vega enters the room, Wells pulls her into a hug, the two a contrast in heights, but their shared affection written on their faces. She brings out a book, a sample of the biographical project that started the idea for the show.

The idea for these books came from her background as a crime reporter for the Belleville News Democrat and her interviews with families dealing with tragedy. She faced her own experience with death in the 16 days her newborn daughter lived with a malignant brain tumor. Those experiences showed her how much life can be lived in the midst of dying. Her daughter’s time in hospice left Vega with memories of singing lullabies and introducing her to the sweet taste of cotton candy.

“When people walk away from the art show, it will make them go home and see their life in a different way. We are living now,” she says. “We create life day-to-day through our relationship with others. This is a show about how we live on through each other, through several generations.”

Wells looks away as he gathers his thoughts. “They tell me I am dying, but I’m not dying yet,” he explains. “One life is coming to an end, but this will demonstrate that the art still goes on.”


Sidebar:

Tributaries: A Legacy Flowing Beyond Rivers
The works of Jim and Ashley Wells
6-10 pm
Friday, July 11
Mad Art Gallery
2727 S. 12 St.
Admission: Free

For more information, visit www.madart.com