Arts and Entertainment

By Maegan McGowen
Staff Writer

Whether Genny Wood was teaching art, painting murals or volunteering at The Mission House of Bullard, she always gave her time and love to the Tyler community.

An artist and art teacher in the East Texas area for more than 17 years, Mrs. Wood was recently diagnosed with cancer.

Friends and fellow volunteers at the Mission House decided to do something in her honor, and organized the first Genny Wood Art Show and Sale, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 8 at Bullard First United Methodist Church, 204 S. Rather.

"The art show idea came about because Greta Faulkinberry, Katherine Bunce and I had taken art from Genny Wood, and we were all volunteers with her at the mission house," Sharon Starwalt, treasurer of the Mission House, said. "When Genny was diagnosed with cancer, and she had quite a lot of cancer, Greta was trying to think about how we could honor Genny and she thought of the idea of the art show."

Because Mrs. Wood is such a fixture in the community, the ladies knew they would get good representation from artists.

"There are a lot of really good artists at Bullard FUMC, and we thought it would be great if the church was involved and Tyler was involved," Ms. Starwalt said. "It just seemed like a way we could honor Genny and help the Mission House out."

Twenty percent of the proceeds from the sale will benefit the Mission House, and the art show will feature Bullard area artists as well as artists from the Tyler area and surrounding East Texas artists.

The Discovery Science place, the University of Texas at Tyler Art Department and the Tyler ISD Art Department will also be represented.

"We've always tried to get exposure for the Mission House in Tyler, because it's all volunteers and it's all funded through fundraisers and grants and donations from the community," Ms. Starwalt said. "Even though we are an outreach ministry of the Methodist church, we are also kind of a standalone. We support ourselves the best we can."

More than 50 artists are expected to attend the show, and attendees can expect everything from oil to watercolors, jewelry, acrylics, stained glass and sculptures.

"It's not a craft show, it's a fine art show," Ms. Starwalt said. "We have an artist in Tyler that is helping us to understand how best to set up the hall (where) the art will be displayed, and we have a lot of different mediums coming in."

According to Ms. Starwalt, the show has taken a little more than a month to organize.

"We really wanted Genny to be involved in planning it, and this way she's been able to still have strength and be involved in it," she said. "The three of us feel it's been lifted out of our hands and its being run by God. Flowing rivers of artists have been calling us, and it's phenomenal to us, because the three of us are not known artists. We've never done it before, but everything is falling in exactly in place, and we're just thrilled."

Mrs. Wood was able to provide the art for the flyer, as well as give the ladies direction on how to go about putting on a worthwhile art show.

"She has given us an incredible list of people in Tyler who are involved in art and she's contacted them herself," Ms. Starwalt said. "From there, we've given her invitations to send out, and she's probably the reason we have all the people from Tyler who are coming. These artists are pretty major players in the art world in Tyler, and Genny is very involved in it."

Mrs. Wood was also involved with the Mission House and volunteered in the clothes closet.

"Her husband, Bill and another gentleman pretty much redid the interior of the ranch-style house that we are in, and Bill also worked in the food pantry," she said. "They were both very involved."

The Mission House was established to help those in need, offering a food pantry and a clothes closet, as well as a medical clinic.

"We've gone from an average of 35 families to, most recently, 103 families," Ms. Starwalt said. "I think the growing is also because of how well-run this Mission House is, and from what we hear from the people that come to the Mission House, they are respected and treated kindly."

The trio is very excited about the art show, and feel that it's already been a success.

"We feel it's already been a success, and we feel it will be a really good representation of area artists," Ms. Starwalt said.

"It will honor Genny because so many of them have been involved in her life, and we feel that it will be a good partial fundraiser for the mission house as well. We've laid the plans and God's made the path easy to walk through. This isn't something the three of us have done before, but it's been open doors and an easy path all the way."

Genny Wood shows an art class how to use screen to paint a picture.
(Courtesy Photo)