G. Temp Sparkman

The high school yearbook editor, thinking me to be a writer, asked me to write the history of the senior class, which I did. I chose the style of the class being a person. So began my venture into writing, That hooked me on writing. In a college class on creative writing, I won an award for creativity. In my career track, religious ministry, I wrote for religious magazines and in books. I continued sharing my creative pieces with friends. When I became an academic, I published works in faith development and practical theology. I am still writing books and sharing creative writings with friends that have liked my words though the years. At one place where I worked, my articles in the church newsletter were posted on members' refrigerators. At another place, I was the unofficial poet laureate. Other writers have said that I do more with fewer words that anyone they have read.

Parallel to this penchant for the written word has been the creation of art in pen/ink and other mediums. This art interest began when I entered my first grade room and was directed to a desk with with my name printed in the hand of my teacher and placed in the pencil groove next to the ink well. I practiced imitating the teacher's style and later moved on to calligraphy. I doodled in text books and drew comic book characters and planes and busses. I also gradually became fascinated with design and abstraction. After retiring from teaching, I became a juried exhibitor at a regional art venue where I presently place art works in all mediums.

Creativity is the practice of putting the imagination to work. Although the artist finds ideas in others' work, true art is in expressing your imagination in a unique way. Art, in any setting, is an experience of meaning. Robert Frost, contemplating a star's purpose, wrote, "I burn." So it is with art: Its purpose is to portray. While, as an academic, I often wrote pieces in formal styles appropriate to the audience, my highest joy in writing is still in producing a work of literary value. So, if a reader is drawn both to the content and the literary style of my pieces, I celebrate the moment. And if a viewer of my art sees both a style and an image, I am pleased.

As to where the name "Temp" comes from, it was a grandfather's nickname that my parents assigned to me.