Category Archives: Schools

Rodrigue on Tour! Film Clips from Florida & Alabama Schools

It was 78 years ago, on March 13, 1944, that my late husband, George Rodrigue, was born to Marie and George, Sr. in New Iberia, Louisiana. After more than twenty years of marriage, they had given up on having children. Yet along came George, who brought magic to their lives, and later, to my life,Continue reading “Rodrigue on Tour! Film Clips from Florida & Alabama Schools”

Walk With Me to the Future

It was while bedridden with polio that George Rodrigue (1944-2013) discovered painting. Unable to walk, and highly contagious with a disease feared by parents everywhere, he remained at home throughout much of the third grade with only his mother for company. His father, George, Sr., supported his family from the road while working as aContinue reading “Walk With Me to the Future”

Teachers (And Why It Almost Didn’t Happen)

Presenting to teachers presents an unusual challenge.  After all, that is their role with their students during hundreds of classes each year.  Last week, during the Oklahoma A+ Schools “Not Your Average Conference” at the University of Central Oklahoma, teachers from seventy arts-integrated schools laughed at me, or rather with me, when I asked duringContinue reading “Teachers (And Why It Almost Didn’t Happen)”

I’ve Moved! Please Join Me!

Dear Rodrigue Friends and Fans, It was 10 years ago that I started, with George’s encouragement, “Musings of an Artist’s Wife.” Today, it’s time for a change.  The more than 300 essays highlighting George Rodrigue’s history, artwork, and our life together will remain posted here as a permanent reference. All new posts, however, are inContinue reading “I’ve Moved! Please Join Me!”

Fall 2019 Life & Legacy Tour

Announcing the Life & Legacy Fall Tour, celebrating the life and art of George Rodrigue!  Please join me on a journey of ‘slow art,’ as we use George’s inspiring story and original paintings to explore the mysterious and mystical, the intuitive and emotional, and always, the beauty and joy of this precious life. -pictured:  at Loranger ElementaryContinue reading “Fall 2019 Life & Legacy Tour”

Louisiana Lawyers Go West

Turquoise Hill with its ancient turquoise mine is an enchanting place —spiritual, timeless, mysterious, and breathtaking in its beauty.  George and I visited many times over the years, beginning in the early 1990s.  We were guests of history, nature, and the mine’s incomparable owner and steward, George’s dear friend and now my husband, Douglas Magnus.Continue reading “Louisiana Lawyers Go West”

Ursuline-Cool! George Rodrigue Life & Legacy Visits the Historic New Orleans School

It was 1994, for my cousin’s wedding, when I last visited Ursuline Academy.  That I forgot their magnificent church, The National Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, confounds me.  This spring on the George Rodrigue Life & Legacy Tour, I stood both transfixed and transported within this glorious temple to God and women andContinue reading “Ursuline-Cool! George Rodrigue Life & Legacy Visits the Historic New Orleans School”

Sharing George: A Video

The Life & Legacy Tour began because I felt compelled to help others experience George Rodrigue in a more personal way.  After eight months, the tour is in demand more than ever, with no end in sight!  And perhaps that’s exactly as it should be. Want to know what it’s like?  Here’s a video from Dr.Continue reading “Sharing George: A Video”

Life and Legacy

George Rodrigue’s life, art, and philanthropy touch lives every day. In a reality that, from my perspective, is both exhilarating and unsettling, I see him moving into near-mythic status, grouped in art lessons with Van Gogh, Picasso, and Matisse.  I’ve always known that he belongs with these artists —Modernist giants whose output enriches our world,Continue reading “Life and Legacy”

What did he look like? …A LAA+ Tour

It was last spring that a young student at The Dufrocq School, a Louisiana A+ School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana asked me the most basic of questions:  “What did he look like?” Thrown off, I could only think Where’s my phone? (in my purse) followed quickly by Where’s my purse? (on the other side of theContinue reading “What did he look like? …A LAA+ Tour”

Rodrigue Comes Home

Those of you who follow this blog know that over the past six years (goodness…..six years….) and more than 300 essays, I focus on text, with quotes from George, and a careful complement of photographs and paintings. However, after spending a whirlwind week in Louisiana, I’m ready to post quickly and then get on withContinue reading “Rodrigue Comes Home”

The Lone Artist

“The artist is involved with art as a way of life.”* George Rodrigue and I discuss often the definition of art.  We study the roles of craft, commercialism, high and low art, concluding always that there is no definitive answer, but that the fun —indeed the tradition— lies in the debates. Ideally, art reflects theContinue reading “The Lone Artist”

An Exhibition from the Other Side

This month, the State Library of Louisiana premieres an exhibition based on a new Rodrigue book, The Other Side of the Painting, on view through February 2014.  Unable to attend the November 2ndopening in Baton Rouge, George Rodrigue and I relied on curator Marney Robinson, who astonished us with her ability to fully utilize aContinue reading “An Exhibition from the Other Side”

Louisiana’s Natural Beauty: An Art Contest with the Audubon Institute

The George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts (GRFA) announces its fifth annual Art Contest, a partnership with the Audubon Nature Institute.  This statewide opportunity for scholarships and other awards benefits Louisiana’s high school juniors and seniors, all eligible for entry, regardless of grades or college plans.  “As a student at Catholic High School in NewContinue reading “Louisiana’s Natural Beauty: An Art Contest with the Audubon Institute”

The American Indian in Louisiana

As George Rodrigue and I explored ancient Indian mounds in northeast Louisiana, the sun in my eyes and warm, wind-blown hair in my face, I accidentally turned to an old page in my notebook covered with scribbles from an earlier adventure.  Unaware of my mistake, I wrote, Each ridge 4-6 ft high when built, 50Continue reading “The American Indian in Louisiana”

Blue Dog: A Life of Its Own

“Feel the dignity of a child. Do not feel superior to him, for you are not.” – Robert Henri It was in Hollywood, ironically, that George Rodrigue and I reflected recently on the Blue Dog in a new way.  We learned of a school in southern California that used the styles of art world mastersContinue reading “Blue Dog: A Life of Its Own”

The Other Side of the Painting

Oftentimes it takes others to point out our achievements.  What begins as small and for oneself can become something else.  George Rodrigue paints today with confidence, sure of both his brushstrokes and direction.  His paintings are steps towards expounding his vision, whether within a specific series or his career’s oeuvre. But this was not alwaysContinue reading “The Other Side of the Painting”

The Lost Painting (Festivals Acadiens)

In this computer age, Rodrigue Studio retains detailed records of art purchases, occasionally borrowing paintings from collectors for public exhibition.  However, prior to the late 1990s, records were partial, hand-kept and often lost.  People move, and paintings sell or pass to descendants.  Some works exchange hands through private sale, and unless the art appears atContinue reading “The Lost Painting (Festivals Acadiens)”

Life Lessons and an Art Contest

George Rodrigue entered two art contests in his life and failed at both. By ‘failed,’ I’m not talking about losses, but more significant that he was disqualified or learned a hard lesson about cheating. “Nothing in life is fair,” my mother used to say, and maybe she was right. But in the end perhaps that’sContinue reading “Life Lessons and an Art Contest”

George Rodrigue’s Creature from the Black Lagoon

Update, 9/25/13:  Pictured below, George Rodrigue with his new version of the Creature, a one-of-a-kind piece on chrome, made for his private collection; click photo to enlarge- In the early 1950s, it was the movies more than television that made the biggest impact on mainstream American culture.  Today during school visits, I describe this environmentContinue reading “George Rodrigue’s Creature from the Black Lagoon”

A Cajun in Carmel

Blue Dog artist George Rodrigue finds inspiration on the Monterey Peninsula- It was twenty-two years ago that artist George Rodrigue (b. 1944) opened his gallery in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.  One of only two locations* in the country, the artist-owned Rodrigue Studio operates the same way today as it did years ago.  Despite Rodrigue’s increasing fame, heContinue reading “A Cajun in Carmel”

Going Home Again….for Art

In 1952 in New Iberia, Louisiana, George Rodrigue (b. 1944) remained sick in bed for six months. I explained this week to a group of young students on the Florida Panhandle that he suffered from polio, a contagious disease affecting his ability to walk.  He couldn’t attend school or play outside. Imagine poor little George withoutContinue reading “Going Home Again….for Art”

Summer Distractions

“I know what your problem is, Wendy,” noted Heather, as she endured, as sisters do, my somewhatminor, but nevertheless ridiculous, breakdown over exceedingly minor things. A whiny, determined adolescent wins out occasionally, lurking, pouting, and stewing within my, one-would-hope, adult mind over dumb stuff. I am not exchanging a three-year old print purchase for theContinue reading “Summer Distractions”

Painting Like a Child… Again

“Creating art in a childlike manner means to be simple and direct, resulting in immediate imagery.” –George Rodrigue Since founding the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts (GRFA) in 2009, George Rodrigue has visited dozens of schools and thousands of children across Louisiana, Northwest Florida and Little Rock, Arkansas.*  Through GRFA he fulfills his needContinue reading “Painting Like a Child… Again”

Farewell to Exhibitions; Welcome to Painting

George Rodrigue and I spent much of the past eighteen months on the road visiting museums and communities for exhibitions, lectures, and education events coordinated by the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts (GRFA) and the New Orleans Museum of Art, which organized the tour as part of its 100th birthday celebration.  Locations included BatonContinue reading “Farewell to Exhibitions; Welcome to Painting”

George Rodrigue: Painting Louisiana

Note:  Based on an essay scheduled for publication in an upcoming book* celebrating Louisiana’s bicentennial, published in April 2012 by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, this blog version includes added images, as well as links throughout, referring you to specific relevant posts and websites. Born and raised in New Iberia, Louisiana, George Rodrigue (b.Continue reading “George Rodrigue: Painting Louisiana”

LSU Football: A Personal History

I attended a small college, Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.  In the mid-1980s we had maybe two thousand students.  Although we had a football team, I don’t recall any games.  We had a Greek system, but I evaded that as well, opting instead for extra classes and the AIDS suicide hotline. In short, IContinue reading “LSU Football: A Personal History”

A Cajun in California

It was ten years ago that George Rodrigue built his studio in the hills of Carmel Valley, California.  Since that time, although we live most of the year in New Orleans, ninety percent of his work comes from this peaceful home on the West Coast, an escape from everything but nature and painting. -click photosContinue reading “A Cajun in California”

Go North (to Shreveport) and Learn

Shreveport often gets a bum rap.  “It’s east Texas,” claim many, as though that’s a bad thing.  This Red River city fights for not only Louisiana’s embrace, but also the South’s. And yet Shreveport, along with nearby north Louisiana cities such as Natchitoches and Bossier City, cheers on the Saints and LSU.  They talk aboutContinue reading “Go North (to Shreveport) and Learn”

An Artist’s Wife ( … okay, now on facebook)

“To be an enthusiast had become her social vocation and, sometimes even when she did not feel like it, she became enthusiastic in order not to disappoint the expectations of those who knew her.”* (pictured above and below, sharing the art of George Rodrigue with Baton Rouge students during a drawing workshop last weekend atContinue reading “An Artist’s Wife ( … okay, now on facebook)”

Honesty, an Image for Peace

Following 9/11, George Rodrigue, like people everywhere, remained shell-shocked for years over the hatred that spawned a terrorist attack.  Although he painted God Bless America in direct response, the tragedy of that day and the desire to help, to change the world even in some small way, resonated long after. The success of the GodContinue reading “Honesty, an Image for Peace”

A Distinguished Eagle Scout

On May 12, 2011 the Boy Scouts of America honor George Rodrigue with their highest honor, the Distinguished Eagle Award. Since established by the National Eagle Scout Association in 1969, only six Eagle Scouts from the New Orleans area have received this honor, the last one twenty-two years ago in 1989. Never have I seenContinue reading “A Distinguished Eagle Scout”

Monroe (that’s MUN-roe), Louisiana

Until recently I thought I understood Louisiana, its ins and outs, its people, its terrain, and its history. Yet we spent much of this past week in northeast Louisiana, and I found town after town unfamiliar, including our destination, Monroe, a city of cypress groves, 60,000 people, and tremendous state pride, located 270 miles northContinue reading “Monroe (that’s MUN-roe), Louisiana”

Defining Success (Finding Fulfillment)

“If you help others, you will find the happiness you want. This is the secret they don’t tell you at school.” Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche How do we end up in our personal (and public) situations? How do children with big problems, those born into poverty, ignorance, and crime, find real happiness inside a box ofContinue reading “Defining Success (Finding Fulfillment)”

Blue Dog Relief

As I’ve mentioned before, it was many months before George Rodrigue returned to his easel following Hurricane Katrina, and when he did, the paintings were dark and fragmented, far different from the bright colors and strong designs normally associated with the Blue Dog Series. Not only was he without a studio space to work, butContinue reading “Blue Dog Relief”

Painting with Uncle George

Originally I planned to spend this post talking about George Rodrigue’s childhood in New Iberia, the fact that he was an only child, along with his lack of art influences, as well as our devotion to arts education. But I’ve covered his childhood already in previous posts, as well as the George Rodrigue Foundation ofContinue reading “Painting with Uncle George”

Remembering Lafayette’s Advocates for the Arts, Circa 1969

This post is dedicated to Mrs. Frances Love (1926-2010), a friend of the arts. When George Rodrigue speaks of supporters during the early years of his career, three names always come up: Rita Davis, A. Hayes Town, and Frances Love. Between them they spent just a few hundred dollars on his canvases, however their influenceContinue reading “Remembering Lafayette’s Advocates for the Arts, Circa 1969”

Paintings for the Flora Levy Lecture Series at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Beginning in 1980 George Rodrigue painted ten portraits, one each year, honoring guest lecturers at what was then called the University of Southwest Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette). The speaker series was conceived by Professor Maurice DuQuesnay and funded by Flora Levy, a Lafayette heiress and philanthropist who left her fortune toContinue reading “Paintings for the Flora Levy Lecture Series at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette”

Louisiana Roots (The Louis Prima of the Art World)

George Rodrigue is unique in the art world. I can think of very few contemporary visual artists of his renown that define themselves by their culture. From the time he first returned to Louisiana from Los Angeles and art school in the late 1960s, he called himself a Cajun artist. Even today he describes everyContinue reading “Louisiana Roots (The Louis Prima of the Art World)”

The Nude Figure

As a student, it was important to George Rodrigue to learn the fundamentals of art. He grew frustrated early on with his college education, a 1960s academic art world rooted in the abstract, as opposed to classical notions of compositional design, chiaroscuro (play of light and dark), and an accurate study of the human figure.Continue reading “The Nude Figure”

Catholic High, Brother Edward, and the Art Scholarship

George Rodrigue, known as ‘Big Rod’ to his teenage peers, graduated from Catholic High School in New Iberia, Louisiana in 1962, along with thirty-two classmates. They have an annual reunion in someone’s backyard (BYObeer), women not permitted. This is a group of guys that remembers a time when “if you could drive, you could drink,”Continue reading “Catholic High, Brother Edward, and the Art Scholarship”

The Ides of March and a Mystical Experience

I was born on the Ides of March in 1967. For the two years prior to my birth, my father was stationed in Vietnam, and my mother lived in the Philippines where he visited her on leave. They returned to the United States on a rough crossing of the QE2 just weeks before I wasContinue reading “The Ides of March and a Mystical Experience”

Blue Dog Today: An Interview with George Rodrigue

Every few weeks I devote a blog to the Blue Dog Story, from its loup-garou beginning in 1984, and on to Tiffany, Absolut and Xerox, Blue Dog Man, Sculptures, Red Dog, and Silkscreens. I last wrote about the Abstract Paintings of 2001-2003, and I’m a bit lost as to how to move forward. To assessContinue reading “Blue Dog Today: An Interview with George Rodrigue”

I First Loved Picasso

As a kid, sometime around age twelve, I discovered my mother’s art books. She protected her prized tomes within plastic covers, locked behind the glass doors of a large, bright yellow wooden bookcase. Her collection included overviews of the Renaissance, Ancient Greece, and Lost Worlds, as well as Da Vinci, Rembrandt, Rubens, Durer, and MichelangeloContinue reading “I First Loved Picasso”

Jimmy Domengeaux, George Rodrigue, and a Few Other Louisiana Characters

I assume other states have characters too, but between Governors Huey and Earl Long, singer and trumpet player Louis Prima, Coach Raymond Blanco, the French Quarter’s Ruthie the Duck Lady, Mr. Possum with his vegetable truck, and George’s Uncle Albert (and for that matter, my Uncle Jack) just to name a few, we are inundated.Continue reading “Jimmy Domengeaux, George Rodrigue, and a Few Other Louisiana Characters”

Art School: Lafayette and Los Angeles, 1962-1967

When George Rodrigue entered his senior year at Catholic High School in New Iberia, Louisiana in 1961, his future, to his mind, was certain. He would go to art school and become a professional artist. His parents, however, had other ideas, determined he have something more steady than his father’s (and grandfather’s) work in brick-layingContinue reading “Art School: Lafayette and Los Angeles, 1962-1967”

The Creative Competition in Two Parts

Part I I grew up in an artistic household in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. My parents, although originally from New Orleans, settled there when my dad was stationed at Eglin Air Force Base. In the first ten years of their marriage, they lived and traveled all over Europe and Asia with the military, and byContinue reading “The Creative Competition in Two Parts”

Now and Then There’s a Fool Such as I (in Memphis)

We’ve spent the past three days in Memphis, extended longer than our usual book tour duty because we visited at length with patients and staff at Le Bonheur Hospital. We took a hard hat tour of their new facility, in addition to what I can only describe as an inspirational (and heartbreaking) tour of theirContinue reading “Now and Then There’s a Fool Such as I (in Memphis)”