METAMORPHOSIS began as a restaurant romance! On view August 6 through September 18, 2021, at artCentral, this collaborative exhibition showcases seventy-six paintings and works of pottery created by Debbie and Richard Reed of Joplin. To preview the art in this elegant exhibition visit artcentralcarthage.org/events and artCentral’s facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ArtcentralCarthage/photos/.
METAMORPHOSIS Weekend Gallery Hours are Fridays and Saturdays, 12:00-5:00 p.m. Sales begin as soon as the doors open on Friday, August 6! Visit early and select your favorite works to purchase and call your own.
The two accomplished exhibiting artists, Debbie and Richard Reed, look forward to greeting you at their ARTIST RECEPTION on Friday, August 20, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Hyde House, 1110 East Thirteenth Street in Carthage. The public is invited. Admission is free. Libations and hors d’œuvres will be served.
What a fascinating (and romantic) story Debbie and Richard bring to METAMORPHOSIS. Yes, their romance truly did begin in a restaurant in Omaha, Nebraska. Both were students at the time, living lean and working their way to their degrees—Debbie as a hostess and Richard as a bow-tied in the same upscale eatery. Since she did not have a car, Debbie walked everywhere including to her job. Richard, in possession of a car, began to offer rides to Debbie. She, of course, happily accepted for the young man with the car was very nice and nice looking, too! Many rides later with Debbie’s nursing degree achieved and Richard’s dental school training completed, in 1977, the two were married and looking for a place for Richard to set up his new practice.
Both Debbie and Richard were open and unafraid to choose to settle in a location where they had never lived. Debbie, the daughter of an Air Force pilot, had moved often. She spent seven years of her earliest childhood living in Japan. Her stepmother is Japanese. Richard and his three sisters were raised to look to broader horizons beyond their Colorado Springs hometown.
As the newlyweds considered beginning their new shared life in various cities and towns, they would look at populations and divide those by the number of practicing dentists. Too dentists-saturated already, Colorado Springs and Omaha were ruled out, as were several other possible destinations. Eventually one of Richard’s sisters living in Joplin said, “Come to Joplin! There are not too many dentists here, and I would love to have relatives in town.”
Debbie and Richard made their calculations. They found Joplin’s demographic ratio—dentists to per capita population—was just right. To Joplin they moved and took out a very large loan to buy office equipment for Richard’s new practice. Already on a very tight budget, they found there was no money available for hiring office staff. Debbie set aside beginning the nursing career for which she had trained and went to work as Richard’s office support of one. As money constraints eased and before Debbie could take up her nursing, the first of their three children was on the way.
Richard had never questioned the trajectory of his path set very early by his love for dentistry. He was one of those exceptional youths who actually looked forward to going in to have his braces tightened. Everything about caring for teeth fascinated him then—working with patients, the tools, the equipment, the opportunities to be of service. To this day his dental vocation is his passion. He loves helping people to have what they need. He loves the artistry of dentistry.
By the time Debbie’s and Richard’s third child was five, Debbie, having always been artsy, realized rather than putting her nursing degree to use, what she wanted most was to fulfill her lifelong dream and to become a practicing artist. When you visit METAMORPHOSIS and see her fine paintings you will witness her dream come true!
Debbie enrolled at Missouri Southern where she studied with Annie Wu and took every art class on offer, as well as evening continuing education courses in art. When she enrolled in an evening pottery class she convinced Richard to join her.
Richard turned out to be a natural with pottery, much more so than Debbie. Quickly he fell in love with clay making and his newly found medium which resonated perfectly with the creative form-making he practiced as a dentist.
Richard’s and Debbie’s backstory for METAMORPHOSIS will continue here next week. In the meantime give yourself a lovely gift. Come see the beautiful works of METAMORPHOSIS currently filling artCentral’s spacious galleries in Hyde House!
