Shaped by the river

Pamela Kugel-Rolls lives along the West Fork of the Black River in Reynolds County. The river informs the life of her family. It encircles front of their house like a moat. A bluff sequesters their back side. When the river floods they have to climb up the back hill.

A river creates a rhythm in the lives of those who live nearby. Kugel-Rolls says these rhythms are universal in the life of a family, times of drought, times of being inundated, and the home along the river a sanctuary providing physical and spiritual renewal.

Living with a river is the subject of "River Rhythms," an exhibit by Kugel-Rolls opening Friday at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri. Also on exhibit will be photographs by Teresa Gemeinhardt, an Anniston, Mo., photographer who formerly taught at Kelly High School in Benton, Mo., and new work by the Visual Arts Cooperative.

Gemeinhardt just completed a show at the Missouri Department of Conservation Visitors Center at Cape County Park. She recently received awards for Best of Show alternate and first place in the professional category for a show at the Mingo National Wildlife Refuge.

An opening reception will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday at the arts council, 32 N. Main St. in Cape Girardeau.

Kugel-Rolls' art integrates text with worn surfaces, mixing narratives about living on the river with materials collected along streams. Worn surfaces, the effect of river on rock, of people on their homes, interest her. "Some kind of commitment is taking place that takes place over time," she says. "The rocks have been dialoguing with the passing waters for eons. Instead of viewing them as ugly or something to disposed of, we need to reveal them as lessons to be learned. What took place there?"

The layering and removal over and over of paint and varnish on a piece of wood is meaningful to her. "It's the suggestion of a domestic space. Also that it is a safe place for children to come and go," she says.Some pieces look like altars, in keeping with her view of the home as a sanctuary.

One piece, too large to display at the arts council gallery, is a hut made of twigs.

For seven years Kugel-Rolls and her family have lived in the Mark Twain National Forest near the Sutton Bluff Recreation Area. Taum Sauk Mountain is 15 miles away. They were drawn by the river and the topography of high hills and natural valleys. "Natural beauty, like art, taps into our humanity," she said.

Her husband, Tony, restores classic cars. Their daughter, Rebecca, is a junior at Southeast Missouri State University majoring in social work. Their son, Joshua, is a senior at South Iron High School. Her work acknowledges the teachings available to her family and any family who live along a river. "She is a teacher who, in her wisdom and timelessness, encourages us to be humble learners," Kugel-Rolls writes in her artist statement.

Her art also remarks on the importance of circular motions in our lives. Dancing, the concentric circles in Eskimo masks, cleaning a cooking pot or soothing a child all suggest to her a deeper significance in these circular patterns. She refers to these motions as marks. "When we maintain our marks at home, they're our marks we make. No one else did it," she says. "We did it not just to get a job done but to maintain the people in our family."

A mark can be as simple as the rings formed when the batter hits the pan while making pancakes together on Saturday morning. To the child they mean you are spending time with me and teaching me life skills, Kugel-Rolls said.

A mark can be a temporary as wiping out a bowl with a spoon, she said. "They prove not only that the home and family are being taken care of but that people are committing to that space."

Kugel-Rolls teaches art in the Lesterville public schools. She thinks families are in a state of crisis because parents aren't interacting with their children enough. "Our children are showing the consequence of that," she says.

While working on her MFA at the University of Memphis a few years ago, her work focused on child abuse. A wise student a generation younger pointed out to her that we already know child abuse is bad. "Tell us what's right," he said.

That insight turned her art toward showing the good parents can do for their children. "Teachers will tell you our children walk around not knowing who they are," she says. "They see parents thinking someone else will do a better job than they are."

But all children want the same thing, she says. "They just want the worn surface. They just want to be interacted with in a positive way."

One of her works is based on interviews with three generations of a family involved with delivering the mail. The stories have been passed down through three generations. The piece resembles a bee hive.

Her interest in people who live along rivers now extends to Cape Girardeau, where her daughter goes to school. She is inviting people to share their stories with her, either by phoning at (573) 648-8618 or contacting her by email at pkrolls@yahoo.com. [StartDouble]I like to inspire everyday people and prove to them that they have great ideas," she said. "I want to empower them to tell their stories."