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TRYON—The Episcopal Church of the Holy Cross is featuring the works of much-loved artist Clara Rogers in its Art Gallery.  

Clara says that she came into the art world through the backdoor.

Mrs. Rogers, as she is known to many former Tryon Elementary students, grew up in a small cotton mill town in South Carolina. There, she had an idyllic childhood and received a good, no-frills education but never had an art class. She went to Columbia College to become a teacher. When Clara and her family moved to Tryon, she was thrilled to find that the Tryon Fine Arts Center had art classes, so she took classes there.  

In 1984, Clara started teaching art at Tryon Elementary School and obtained her master’s in art education from the University of South Carolina.  

For 34 years, it was her joy to teach young people about art, artists, and how to draw. Now, Clara teaches a couple of classes for adults at TFAC and is running SASY camp (Summer Arts Series for Youth) for the third summer.

Throughout the years Clara has enjoyed dabbling in art, working in pastels, watercolors, acrylics, and oils. She has also done a lot of hand-building with porcelain clay, even teaching a clay class to her retired teacher friends. 

“I get lost in my work. I become absorbed in it,” she says. “I like to say making art is my happy place.”

The show will be on display until mid-June. The gallery, located at 150 Melrose Avenue in Tryon, is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and during services.

 

Submitted by Jonathan O. Trebilco