Anne Bird, the current president of Adair County Arts, met Henrietta Scott and her husband, Jeff Scott, at an art fair in 2013. She remembers being instantly taken aback by the pottery they had on display.
“They had amazing, amazing pottery. And the craftsmanship of these bowls was magnificent… Jeff was the potter, and Henrietta was the embellisher (who put) running horses on the side of the bowls. You think about Greek urns and bowls,” she said.
What Bird (who lived in Louisville at the time and now resides in Scott’s old gallery) did not know then was how influential Scott and her art were to Adair County.
When Henrietta Roush Scott died Saturday, her death prompted mourning across the area. The longtime teacher, artist, and dedicated member of the community was a pillar of Columbia, both through her drive to educate others and the work she did to transform the local artistic scene.
Born on July 23, 1946 in Athens, Ohio to Loring Roush and Sara Glazier Roush, Henrietta Scott spent her formative years in her mother’s art studio. This sparked her love for all things creative and eventually led her to pursuing a major in art education at Eastern Kentucky University. There, she met Jeffrey Grant Scott. They married on February 3, 1968 and were together until his death in August 2016.
“They were a team,” Bird said.
Most of Scott’s career was spent teaching at Adair County High School. In 2015, she became an adjunct professor at Campbellsville University. She also held workshops and classes outside of the traditional classroom. This is where local artist Serena Corbin says she first worked with Scott.
“We’ve always been neighbors, but our paths crossed creatively when I started attending her summer workshops in 2007. I was 9 years old. She taught a little bit of everything, primarily ceramics. (She was) the perfect jack-of-all-trades role model for a young, aspiring artist like me,” said Corbin. “In the work environment, there was no pressure, just passion and optimism. It wasn’t about getting everything perfect, but expressing yourself, learning from past mistakes and trying new techniques and mediums. Most importantly, to not give up.”
In a social media post commemorating the late artist, Corbin added that, “(Scott’s) studio was a world of color, clay, fresh apples, and words of ambition pouring from her lips keeping all of us attendees striving to become better at our craft.”
Her teaching style is one reason she so deeply affected young artists like Corbin, who had her as a teacher.
“She didn’t talk at kids. She talked to students. She took the time to listen… They needed somebody to listen and in many cases just to give them a hug and (tell them) their intuition was right on,” Bird said, adding that Scott had a talent for remembering her students’ names long after they left her class.
But what Scott was arguably most known for, and where her influence was the most felt, was in her being a founder of Adair Arts. She opened a door for many artists to feel that their art mattered and could be part of a community. Scott helped expand what was taught and what kinds of art people could learn about through her workshops and mentoring.
“Henrietta brought the watercolor to the table… Henrietta’s watercolor paintings take your breath away on the colors she uses and the capturing of nature or whatever her subject is. It’s just amazing,” Bird said. “Then there were the ceramics… She was showing the community that you could have something as heavy as a bowl but so fragile that it makes it as great as a diamond… You look at Henrietta’s work… each one is special. She made it with love.”
“Henrietta gave off her own one-of-a-kind confident and quirky soul-filled energy that illuminated every room she walked into, both in and out of the studio. You never forget meeting someone as spontaneous as her,” Corbin said.
Henrietta Scott was laid to rest yesterday in the Sparksville Baptist Church Cemetery. She asked all expressions of sympathy be made to the Apple of My Eye Scholarship.
By Kenley Godby
kenley@adairvoice.com
