Jamis Lott Scholarship Fundraiser
As a youngster Jamis Lott, a young artist and puppeteer from Townshend, drew every animal imaginable. He attended River Gallery School for art classes at an early age, and graduated from Leland and Gray, finishing his college education with a major in art and a minor in psychology. During many trips to the Czech Republic, he attended workshops at the Puppets in Prague School, designing whimsical masks and puppets. He went on to hold workshops on creating shadow puppets, an ancient form of entertainment. Art was his passion - you rarely saw Jamis without his sketchbook. He died unexpectedly at age 28 in the house he grew up in.
Margaret Stearns, Barbara Campman and Ric Campman were all instrumental in Jamis's artistic journey.
Upcycled shirts and wooden plaques displayed for sale in our window at 36 Main Street were silk-screened by his brother Kalen Lott, using Jamis's original drawings. Profits from the sales will benefit the Jamis Lott Scholarship Fund of River Gallery School, to enable young artists to attend classes.
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Jamis Lott
Since early childhood, Jamis had an exceptional interest in and talent for art. Along with his friend and teacher, Margaret (Missy) Stearns, he worked on art projects exploring his vivid imagination. When he was a child, she helped him collage a giant dragon, which hung for years in his family’s kitchen. They remained close and important friends throughout Jamis' life.
Stearns said: "I began doing art with Jamis when he was a kindergartener. His gift for integrating all his life experiences, all his thoughts, all his imaginings into works of art was already there. As an adult, Jamis stated he was overwhelmed by the idea, the miracle, by which human beings are able to find unity in everything they take time to understand. Because he was constantly expanding his knowledge and working to understand and appreciate everything around him, he created unity and wholeness within himself. Everything he touched, his every external act, became a work of art."
Jamis spent seven years as a student at River Gallery School, attending the Children's Studio art classes, where he worked with Barbara Campman and Jillian Farwell. Campman said of Jamis’ time at the school: “He was very self- guided- he just needed space and art materials and he would enter his world of imagination. He was so appreciative that he could be provided with that. He didn’t seem to get frustrated by the materials or the process. He simply produced his imagery, and was usually happy with the results. His images were strong, the faces so expressive - powerful, beautiful, and haunting. We all responded to them. His paintings were profound; they possessed an inner truth.”
Jamis’ own words will always remain the best description of his connection to art. The following is an excerpt from his artist’s statement (which can be read in it’s entirety at the show or on his website):
“Any sort of act can be an act of art; the way we treat our bodies, how we have an argument, the way we wait for a bus, the expression of pain as we have a wound mended, the style of reaction we apply to situations when people ask us personal questions, and all other expressions of ourselves. Life is full of toil, but even in toil we can realize one great fact, that when we become angry, sad or happy we are interacting with something outside of ourselves. This is the sign that invites us through the doorway into art.”