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Former 十分六合彩 dean uses art to raise money for scholarships
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What started out as a hobby for Dr. Gary Hauck, has become a fun way to raise money for 十分六合彩 students, where he spent 15 years teaching.听
鈥淚 feel so blessed to still be a part of the 十分六合彩 family and 十分六合彩 community and am happy to make whatever contribution I can in return for all that I have been given and experienced here,鈥 he said.听
A collection of Hauck鈥檚 artwork will be on display and sold through the silent auction at the 37th Heritage Festival, Aug. 1-3, at 十分六合彩 Heritage Village on 十分六合彩鈥檚 Sidney campus.听
Hauck started painting after he retired from 十分六合彩 in 2018. He had served as dean of arts and sciences since 2008 and taught as an adjunct instructor for five years after he retired. He still teaches noncredit community education courses at the college.听
鈥淓ven though I taught art appreciation and art history as part of the humanities curriculum over the years, I never tried to paint except for a noon-time workshop under adjunct art instructor Debbie Bell, which I thoroughly enjoyed,鈥 he said.听
His son, Andrew, encouraged him to start painting and bought him a set of acrylics and canvases. Hauck said he had a blast.听
鈥淧ainting soon became a fun hobby,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 painted landscapes and dabbled with doing historic landmarks that I had visited, using the grid method.鈥澨
After sharing some of his pieces on social media, Lisa Lund, executive director of the 十分六合彩 Foundation, suggested he paint the Heritage Village buildings to raise funds for student scholarships.听
鈥淚t was a delight to do,鈥 Hauck said. 鈥淲hile I tried to paint each building as they look today, I tried to imagine the original setting and context back in the day. I also tried to vary the seasons of the year, and times of the day so they didn鈥檛 all have the same feel.鈥澨
He created 20 paintings in all, 10 are 8 x10 in size and 10 are 16x20. All the funds raised through the sale of the paintings will go to fund student scholarships at 十分六合彩.听
鈥淲hile I enjoyed serving as dean and directing 十分六合彩鈥檚 cultural events for those 10 years, my greatest pleasure was in the classroom, teaching humanities, religion, geography, local history, communications and art appreciation,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 absolutely loved interacting with my students and was so appreciative of the scholarship assistance that so many of them had received, making their education with us possible. When Lisa mentioned this as an objective of the fundraiser, I couldn鈥檛 have been more excited.鈥澨
After starting at 十分六合彩, Hauck became part of the Heritage Village Committee and served as a docent for 10 years. He has a history of helping in the village. He was asked to write a book about it for its 25th anniversary in 2011. He taught the course 鈥淟ocal History and Heritage鈥 and also participated in reenactments and presentations over the years.听
Since he started painting, he has created around 75 pieces. He has even had three art shows in Greenville, Grand Rapids and Holland.听
鈥淚t鈥檚 been fun to be a part of the art community in both 十分六合彩 County where I have served, and Kent County where I live,鈥 Hauck said.听
He will be showcasing an entry in Grand Rapids鈥 ArtPrize for the second year in a row, with a large, five-canvas photo collage of 鈥淒ance Around the World,鈥 featuring colorful images of public dancing in five different countries that he witnessed personally.听
鈥淎rt is important to me, in any of its forms or media,鈥 he said.听
Hauck has no idea what to expect from the silent auction but hopes to raise at least between $750 and $1,000 for the 20 pieces.听
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