by TASI Executive Director, Greg Busceme, Sr.
There is someone dear to me that has recently passed away. His name is Phil Fitzpatrick. Phil was Alabama born and raised and graduated from Auburn University. His move to Lamar University changed his life and ours. He met Nancy Howell, a dance instructor, who became his lifelong love and partner and they never looked back until recently when “Ole Phil” went to the great iron foundry in the sky.
He was a professor at Lamar University’s art department in graphic design, drawing, and other courses, but I have no idea what they were. I knew him as an instructor, mentor, and friend. We spent many hours in the foundry which, in the beginning, amounts to a stack of brick with a pipe burner stuck in the side that could melt about ten pounds of aluminum. From there and with his loyal partner in crime, sculpture and ceramics professor Meredith “Butch” Jack, transformed the sculpture department into a force to be reckoned with. For the next 25 years, I had the honor of learning and working iron pours with these guys as a student and later as a peer (thank you MFA). Affectionately known as Yoda and Buddha they were always scheming something to advance the sculpture and ceramic departments and I was so lucky to be a part of it. The skills I learned at Lamar landed me in a position with sculptor David Cargill where I continued to learn and be mentored about sculpture and life. We are the product of the gifts that our mentors give us. It is a gift that can only be carried in our hearts and must be shared with others.
We learn from our mentors and those lessons become ours and we pass that knowledge on to the next infinitely curious student who wants to find their way in the arts. Phil always said the only thing he got from doing graphic design is slumped shoulders and hemorrhoids. A wise saying and true but what I gained from Phil as an artist and as a person are lessons that continue to teach me and a standard of integrity that will stay with me for as long as I live. Thanks Phil, you’ve done good!
