By Craig Foster (Whetstone staff writter)
Professor Fluman poses next to an old portrait he created of himself. Fluman remembers those days being a long time ago.
Q: Age?
A: 75 years old
Q: Birthplace?
A: Williamsport, Penn.
Q: Could you give us some background information on yourself?
LF: Well, I told you I’m from Pennsylvania. I grew up on a farm there with my family in a house that looked more like a hallway with a dirt floor and two rooms. I studied art at Lycoming College and Temple University, a Bachelor’s in education, art history and art with 30-plus hours beyond that. I also hold a fine arts degree.
Q: What’s your title here at Wesley?
LF: Professor of Art. I was also coordinator of the Japanese student program here for some time.
Q: How long have you been teaching?
LF: 52 years, 47 of those years have been here at Wesley
Q: How did you come about teaching art?
LF: One of my first jobs was a boys’ instructor at the YMCA, I did that until I was almost 23. It was too much responsibility for me, I enjoyed it but just wasn’t a career. After I got my schooling background in art and education, I started teaching and have been since.
Q: Is it safe to say you enjoy this line of work?
LF: People ask me how I like my work and I respond I’ve never worked a day in my life. If you enjoy what you’re doing, it’s not work, I always overhear conversations of people complaining about their jobs and I just never understood it. If you don’t like the job do something about it. In my experience, if you are doing something you enjoy regardless of the sacrifices you make to do it, you’ll be a better person for it. It’s not healthy to hate what you do on a day-to-day basis.
Q: When it comes to teaching do you have specific approaches?
LF: I tend to be very formal with my students, always keep relationships very professional. When I come out of that door and into the classroom, it’s show time. I like to joke around with students but I am careful not to cross the line because it’s a very delicate situation. I believe that students are here to learn and move on, I see a lot of times when students get attached to a school or professors and it’s almost like they keep coming back. That’s not what we are here for. We are here to impart knowledge to you so you can go on and do other things. That’s not to say I’m not friendly or have never had something come from teaching students. Two of my best friends are actually former students, but those relationships evolved after they had matured and moved on. You should not anchor at these kinds of places. This should not be the pinnacle of your life.
Q: How do you think teaching art varies or compares with other subjects?
LF: With art it’s very hard to determine success because of the nature of what it is. I’ve had a few students go on to do some great work. The thing about art is it could take 10, 15, or 50 years before people realize the genius of a piece of work. You might even be dead when something of yours gets popular and that’s just how it’s going to be. If students come in here and can trust us as professors with our 50-plus years of experience to help guide them that’s really our only goal.
Q: What’s your favorite form of art?
LF: My wife and I collect lots of Japanese pottery and prints. I mostly like to draw and paint myself but I also appreciate all works of art in a wide range of things and tend to appreciate other people’s artwork usually over mine. Haiku is Japanese poetry often placed in a stylish fashion on large sheets of paper, which is something I picked up from working with Japanese students for instance.
Q: How long do you think you will continue teaching art?
LF: I am asked a lot when I might retire. Who knows, this year might be the last or I might just keep going. There’s no real plan with it.
Q: Do you have any other hobbies?
LF: As you may have noticed I am into Japanese culture, I have been there nine times to visit friends made through the program here at Wesley.
Q: Could you tell us something we don’t already know, maybe something that might surprise someone?
LF: I hold a black belt in Karate, and used to be very competitive, though it’s not much use at this age.
