When I went, with fear and trembling, to my first art class in the early ‘70s as a nontraditional student, Tucker Cooke was my teacher. After 40 years at UNCA, Cooke has announced his retirement. The UNCA University Gallery, recently renamed in Cooke’s honor, has mounted a retrospective exhibit of his works and is hosting a tribute to him on Saturday, Feb. 17, at 7:30 p.m. The following are memories shared by Cooke’s students:
• Christine Longoria, painter: “Early on, I was making a drawing of a bust. Tucker came by and said, ‘That’s great, but put yourself into it.’ He knew how much we all wanted our work to look like his.”
• Scott Lowery, assistant professor of art at Mars Hill College: “My clearest memory is that Tucker became a mentor: He was never satisfied with ‘good enough.’ He was always pushing you toward a higher level. I also learned to respect the ‘Bite Dog’ sign that would appear in the studio when he was working on a show.”
• Bronwyn le Joi, painter: “I hung around the studio a lot. Tucker was very endearing. He enjoyed looking through the sketch books I brought with me from San Francisco. He was a friend. I remember that we both wore these white butchers’ aprons, and there was a closet filled with remarkable props for still-life class.”
• Leslie Shaw, owner of Leslie Shaw Design: “Studying with Tucker was a transformative experience. He was able to communicate new ways of creating art.”
• Scott Upton, painter: “Tucker wanted everything to be technically correct, but he gave you freedom. I came from a commercial-art background, so my work was very tight—he had me tear up a work and put it back together. I knew then, that for me, abstract was the way to go. My life has been better for having known him.”
• Larry Turner, painter: “Tucker is, of course, an excellent draftsman, but I really appreciate his broad and curious mind!”
• Pauline Tennant, woodworker: “When I studied with Tucker, things were strict. The classes were small. He was always generous with me—but I did learn quickly that the human figure was not my subject matter!”
• Gary Byrd, co-owner of Semi-Public Gallery: “Tucker was always supportive and encouraging. I was living out in Burnsville at the time I studied with him, and he would let me crash at his house. After he had talked about art all day, we would talk about it until late at night. I know that the things I wanted to talk about were things he had heard a thousand times from other young students, but he was never flippant or dismissive.”
• James Cassaria, art teacher at Claxton Elementary School: “At the time I was at UNCA, there was little interest in arts education. Tucker encouraged me in my pursuit of a career as a teacher. The classes were hard, but there was a relaxed atmosphere. Tucker was extremely generous in opening his home for parties—I remember one Thanksgiving when the celebration started on Monday and continued through Friday!”
• Skip Rohde, painter: “Tucker never let me take the easy way out. When it was time for my senior exhibition I was flailing about, nothing was working. Tucker was quick to raise the bulls**t flag on me. He taught me to distinguish what was really important to me.”
• Josh Copus, ceramist: “He would stop me in the hall to talk about what I was doing. My talks with him about art were meaningful. He never had a stand-offish air.”
• Sharon Trammel, chair of the fine-arts department at A-B Tech: “Tucker was one of my life’s biggest influences. He had a real passion for teaching. He really loved it. He inspired me to be a teacher.”
• Peter Gentling, retired physician who studied with Cooke after bypass surgery: “I was at a low point. I was still in a great deal of pain, and it meant so much to have a focus. [He was] one of the finest teachers I’ve ever had in any field.”
• Brenda Coates, sculptor: “One day after life drawing we dressed the skeleton in a hat and scarf, put it into Tucker’s convertible and drove all around town.”
• Kerstin McDaniel, fiber artist: “Wonderful things happened in the classroom, but the most memorable things happened on trips. I remember a toga party on top of a convent in Rome and one truly eventful trip to Washington.”
