There’s no playbook for being the leader of an arts organization. A little bit of trial and error, a little bit of good luck, and a little bit of soaking in as much information as you can from other leaders is pretty much the way to go. I’ve been fortunate to learn from some of the best.
Perhaps the first person I ever learned from was my grandmother, Ann Young. For 45 years – 37 as an owner – my grandmother has been at the helm of the Sievers School of Fiber Arts on Washington Island, Wisconsin, a quaint location where people of all backgrounds and experience levels learn how to apply their creativity to the fiber arts. Since my mom worked there as well (and still does), I spent countless hours there as a boy, often playing in the surrounding woods, raiding the cupboards for food, or exploring my grandparents’ VHS collection. When I wasn’t exploring, snacking, or watching The Bridge on the River Kwai for the umpteenth time, I would shadow either my grandfather or grandmother as they tended to their daily work in and around Sievers.
Ann and Butch Young
I would follow my grandmother into the various studio spaces of the Sievers campus, accompanying her as she engaged with the teachers and students, always bringing her cheery and optimistic personality into the room and making everyone feel at home. I’m sure there were always problems to deal with (as there are with any business or organization), but my grandmother, true to her form, never let on. Neither of my grandparents ever wavered in how they approached each day – consistency as character.
Okay, sometimes we take breaks to go fishing…
Seeing the same people come back to the school for classes year after year, decade after decade, it’s hard not to realize that it’s a special place. While an idyllic location and high-quality instructors help, a good portion of the credit is that students and general visitors were treated with kindness and respect from my grandmother and all Sievers staff.
Although never taking much, if any, time for herself (she’s probably hard at work on something as I write this), I’m giving her a shout-out today on her birthday. She wouldn’t want me to say how many years old she is, but she’s been around long enough to positively impact the lives of thousands of people who have learned how to make and appreciate art over the years – something I strive for myself.
Happy birthday to the one who may have started it all.
