Artist serving Tyler apprenticeship

Posted 9/29/22

The last time the Monitor interviewed local artist Rachel Swasso, she was realizing the gift of sketch art. The interview ran in the July 23, 2020 edition and recounted her development as a burgeoning artist, from initial sketches of characters of “Lord of the Rings” to portraitures of family and friends. 

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Artist serving Tyler apprenticeship

Posted

The last time the Monitor interviewed local artist Rachel Swasso, she was realizing the gift of sketch art. The interview ran in the July 23, 2020 edition and recounted her development as a burgeoning artist, from initial sketches of characters of “Lord of the Rings” to portraitures of family and friends. 

It was an enlightening interview in that it documented her progression as an amateur artist and left one with the impression that whatever course her life took, art would be a large part of it.

An impromptu meeting in town provided the chance to catch up with Swasso, and facilitated a visit to her Tyler studio. 

That studio is located in the offices of the Tyler Diocese where Swasso is in her second year of a three-year apprenticeship to professional artist Robert Puschautz. 

The walls of the office are covered in black drapes and separated in half, allowing Swasso to work on two projects at the same time.

“The drapes control the light,” Swasso said, “as light and shadow are absolutely critical to understanding the meaning of sketch art.”

What brought her to that studio was a unique set of circumstances. As Swasso explained, “It was a God thing.”

Family friends who had relocated to Mineola from the Midwest had led to an introduction with Puschautz – who himself had relocated from the Midwest to Tyler. It was quite a series of coincidences.

For Swasso, the opportunity to apprentice was a dream come true. “It suited me perfectly,” she stated. The apprenticeship provides excellent professional tutelage, fulfills her personal desire to learn the stylistic fundamentals of professional artistry and is faith-based.  

She shared, “Religious art is the highest form of art…if it can help beautify the house of God, then it is the best it can be.”

Swasso exudes a quiet confidence and strength of one committed to her beliefs.

Her mentor in the apprenticeship, Puschautz, is a co-founder of Stabat Mater, an artistic apostolate which advances the culture of life. He works as an adjunct to the St. Philip Institute, the educational arm of the Diocese of Tyler. 

Puschautz has designed a three-year program which will progress Swasso through the mediums of pencil, charcoal and paint. This represents a natural increase in artistic complexity.

Presently in year two, using charcoal, Swasso is learning from the time-honored technique of drawing representations of famous ‘master copies.’ The process is time consuming and intricate. Presently, Swasso is rendering a sketch of American artist John Singer Sargent’s portrait of Sir Henry James.  

As Swasso explains, the process is one that teaches.

“You must notice what it is that the artist is trying to communicate or highlight. Why did he specifically shade one specific feature or alter the shading in just a certain way.”

She explained that the traditional masters of art made art a two-way experience: what they presented and how it could be received by the viewer.

These manipulations, especially in portraiture, Swasso finds truly fascinating.

“The techniques that the masters used are indeed timeless,” she shared.

The young artist puts in half a day on the Sir James Henry rendering and half a day working on the charcoal representation of a sculpture. She related that especially when trying to produce a one-dimensional piece from a three-dimensional sculpture, the consistency of the light is absolutely critical. A circular hole in the black curtains covering the window provides that consistency of illumination.

Puschautz visits normally twice a day to offer critique points on her work. It is a method which fits Swasso’s personality.

“It is a real blessing to be learning this craft in an environment of people who do their work for God,” she admitted. It gives everything a greater sense of completeness, she shared.

There is a bit of barter in the apprenticeship as well; all in the name of learning the profession. In addition to her project work, Swasso assists in staging workshops, framing, building and prepping canvasses, and painting the initial layers of light and dark on canvasses which Puschautz will use. She advised that all are necessary steps to becoming a professional.

Being professional requires becoming proficient in many things, including fighting through what writers know as “writer’s block.”  Picking up a charcoal baton, she explained that the best advice is to simply begin working on whatever part of the drawing will next bring it “closer to nature.” 

Creating religious art presents a unique challenge as well. How does a fallible human sketch or paint God or any of the figures from the Bible? Swasso has faced this very question. She seeks to interpret the religious figures by determining what their personal significance are to her. 

“Holy figures fill many roles,” she stated, “from just and righteous to gentle and caring.”

When asked what would be her greatest creation, she reflected then offered that painting a scene of heaven would be her desire.

“I would paint it as something that we all can reach,” she said.     

Now only halfway through her apprenticeship, Swasso has not yet set a course for her immediate future beyond the training at the St. Philip Institute. While she admits that the ultimate dream might be to do commissioned paintings, art will enhance but not define her life. 

“My ideal vocation is to be a mother,” she stated with conviction. “God gave me this gift, which I will continue to develop and will use at every stage of my life to enhance my life, and to glorify God.”