ORAL HISTORY OF JAMES (JIM) DODSON
Interviewed by Keith McDaniel
May 22, 2015
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MR. MCDANIEL: This is Keith McDaniel and today is May 22nd. Is that right?
MR. DODSON: I believe it is.
MR. MCDANIEL: May 22, 2015, and I'm at my studio here in Oak Ridge with the one and only Jim Dodson. Jim, thank you for taking time to talk with us.
MR. DODSON: You're very welcome.
MR. MCDANIEL: Jim is - is not an old Oak Ridger, but he's a long-time Oak Ridger and we're going to talk about his . . . He's a long-time teacher in the Oak Ridge school system. I want to talk about, you know, education and the school system and if I can get him to say anything bad about anybody, I'll try but I've never heard him say one bad thing about anybody ever. So, and I've known Jim a while, but - but anyway, Jim - just start at the beginning. Tell me where you were born and raised and something about your family and growing up.
MR. DODSON: Okay. Well, I was actually born and raised in East Tennessee in Knoxville. I grew up in South Knoxville. I went to elementary school at White Elementary School, which is no longer a part of the Knox County system. So after I left there, they did away with that school and I think they consolidated some of the schools and other schools - schools around. Then I went to middle school at Doyle Middle and also Doyle High school, graduated in 1981 from Doyle High School and after that I went on to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
MR. MCDANIEL: Now when you were growing up, what did your parents do?
MR. DODSON: Well, my father worked at TVA. He was actually a draftsman back when people were doing drafting and soon after that, he started working with CAD [Computer Assisted Design]. But he worked at a lot of different, I guess, industrial places where he would draw the plans for those buildings and help with that. My mom worked for KUB - the Knoxville Utilities Board - for several years and she retired from there.
MR. MCDANIEL: Did she? Now, did you have any brothers or sisters?
MR. DODSON: I do. I have two brothers. I'm actually the oldest. I've got a brother who is three years younger than me, and he is actually a librarian at the University of Tennessee [UT]. And then I've got a brother who's 11 years younger than me, and he's a teacher and he teaches in Wartrace, Tennessee, at a school. I believe it's in Murfreesboro.
MR. MCDANIEL: Oh, is that right? Wartrace. Yeah, I've heard of that. Is that near Bell Buckle or something like that?
MR. DODSON: It is. it's not far from Bell Buckle.
MR. MCDANIEL: That's right. I had an intern who was from - I think she went to Wartrace.
MR. DODSON: So, the bestway to describe Wartrace is if you ever watch the Andy Griffith show, it's about the same size.
MR. MCDANIEL: Is it?
MR. DODSON: And there's a train track going through the middle of it.
MR. MCDANIEL: Through the middle of it?
MR. DODSON: Yeah.
MR. MCDANIEL: Her father had a little model train shop I think in Wartrace, and is that where Webb School or it's close. There's a Webb School over there in Bell Buckle, I think.
MR. DODSON: Yeah. I think Webb School is close to Bell Buckle, and Bell Buckle may be about 30 minutes.
MR. MCDANIEL: She lived in Wartrace and went to Webb. I think so. Anyway, that's besides the point. So all three of you brothers are educators to a certain degree.
MR. DODSON: We are. Yeah. We are.
MR. MCDANIEL: So you went to - so you grew up in South Knoxville you said - Doyle High School - in the late ‘70's. You know, South Knoxville has a - has a reputation of being kind of a rowdy place. What was it really like?
MR. DODSON: Well, I don't know if it was rowdy when I was growing up. It hasn't changed too much in the area that I grew up on in Cumberland Heights.
MR. MCDANIEL: Oh, okay, yeah.
MR. DODSON: But as you get closer to town, it has changed quite a bit.
MR. MCDANIEL: Right.
MR. DODSON: Some of the businesses that used to be there are no longer. You've got some of these strips malls that are kind of infringing on that area.
MR. MCDANIEL: Right.
MR. DODSON: But South Knoxville, it was always the gateway to the Smoky Mountains. Instead of going interstate, we would always go Chapman Highway and we would get to Sevierville that way.
MR. MCDANIEL: Right. Now you weren't there when Johnny Knoxville, P.J. Clapp, was going to school there were you?
MR. DODSON: No. That doesn't sound familiar.
MR. MCDANIEL: Because he's from South Knoxville.
MR. DODSON: I was there when Cas Walker - Cas Walker's . . .
MR. MCDANIEL: Cas Walker's store.
MR. DODSON: Store, yeah and we would always - after school, after Doyle High School, after a ballgame, we would go to McDonald's which was there on the hill in South Knoxville. So yeah.
MR. MCDANIEL: All right. So you decided to go to the University of Tennessee and what did you study?
MR. DODSON: Well, I was always interested in visual art and actually, I was interested in drama as well but visual art was my first calling. I think I got a lot of those genetics from my father because he was always drawing things, and I decided I wanted to go into fine arts. I took a fine arts class at the University of Tennessee my first year, and I fell in love with that. But I got to the point where, you know, I thought how am I going to make a living at this, and about that time I discovered that there was an art education component of this. I went over to the education department and I took a class and I fell in love after that because I found that some of the things that I knew I was able to communicate those pretty effectively to some of the teachers that we were working with there.
MR. MCDANIEL: Right.
MR. DODSON: And as a result of that, I took several other classes and eight years later and four degrees later.
MR. MCDANIEL: Oh really?
MR. DODSON: From the University of Tennessee, I'm actually teaching in the Oak Ridge School system.
MR. MCDANIEL: So you went to school for eight years?
MR. DODSON: I did, yeah.
MR. MCDANIEL: And you've got how many degrees?
MR. DODSON: I've got four. I've got a Bachelor of Fine Arts and that's where I started and that's basically in print making. That was my concentration.
MR. MCDANIEL: Okay.
MR. DODSON: And then I've got some education degrees. I've got a Bachelor of Science in Education and then after that, I went ahead and pursued my Masters of Science, and then I finished up with an EDS and that's called a specialist degree. And then finally, I actually was accepted to the doctorial program but I actually did not finish that, and that's one of those itches that I always wanted to scratch. So maybe later on, I'll go back and maybe pursue the doctorate degree.
MR. MCDANIEL: Well, that would be something, wouldn't it?
MR. DODSON: Yeah, it would be.
MR. MCDANIEL: So, you - so you went to the University of Tennessee. Did they have a good arts school, I mean art program?
MR. DODSON: They have a great art program. In fact, the second year . . . Well, the year prior to me attending there they had actually built a brand new art and architecture building on the campus. So I got to be in there the second year that it was open.
MR. MCDANIEL: Right.
MR. DODSON: The facilities were great. The instructors were really great. So that's one of the reasons I continued on that path.
MR. MCDANIEL: Did you think about going anywhere else besides UT or was it just always - that was always what it was going to be?
MR. DODSON: Well, when you're the first one in your family who goes to college and I was, and this is in your backyard, I thought this was the natural choice.
MR. MCDANIEL: Sure.
MR. DODSON: So and at that time, it wasn't as expensive as it is now.
MR. MCDANIEL:Yeah.
MR. DODSON: So that's one of the reasons I guess.
MR. MCDANIEL: You've got a daughter who's been in school for a while.
MR. DODSON: Oh yeah. My daughter - I'm really proud of her. She's actually in school down at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, and she did her undergraduate degree and now she's working on her doctorate degree in physical therapy. So she's got about a year left on that.
MR. MCDANIEL: Is that right?
MR. DODSON: Yeah.
MR. MCDANIEL: So you know what the cost of college is now, don't you?
MR. DODSON: Oh, yeah. We're looking forward to that - to the end of that.
MR. MCDANIEL: I'm sure. I'm sure. All right. So you graduated from UT and then what happened?
MR. DODSON: Well, I'm going to have to mention my wife here.
MR. MCDANIEL: Yeah. I was going to get to that. DId you meet her while you were in college?
MR. DODSON: Actually, I did. I met her while I was working on my undergraduate degree and we got married - now I was 21.
MR. MCDANIEL: Oh, really?
MR. DODSON: Fairly young.
MR. MCDANIEL: Yeah.
MR. DODSON: We've been married about 31 years this summer.
MR. MCDANIEL: Yeah.
MR. DODSON: But yeah. She's one of the ones that actually, I guess, had spurred me on and she's given me a really - a good appreciation for education and what it means.
MR. MCDANIEL: Okay.
MR. DODSON: She's always been there to support me.
MR. MCDANIEL: Right.
MR. DODSON: And her name is Becky.
MR. MCDANIEL: And was she in college?
MR. DODSON: Yeah.
MR. MCDANIEL: What did she get her degree in?
MR. DODSON: Well, she got her degree in social work.
MR. MCDANIEL: Okay.
MR. DODSON: So she started off as a social worker several different places. She landed at the - at St. Mary's Hospital in Knoxville, which has gone through several changes.
MR. MCDANIEL: Yeah.
MR. DODSON: And she stayed with them for the last 30 plus years.
MR. MCDANIEL: Oh, okay. All right. So you all got married and you finished school and then you had to get a job.
MR. DODSON: Yeah. I was fortunate. I was sitting in my - one of my professor's office over at the University of Tennessee Art Education Department and he came up to me and he said,“You know they're interviewing somebody for an art teaching position out in Oak Ridge,” and I just came off an interview with Maryville and they were ready to hire me at Maryville High School. So I went out to Oak Ridge and it was at a middle school, and I really thought I'm wanting a high school position.
MR. MCDANIEL: Right.
MR. DODSON: But I went out and I talked to Robert Moss, who is the principal there, and I was really impressed with the school and how it was set up.
MR. MCDANIEL: Where was it, Jefferson?
MR. DODSON: Jefferson Middle School.
MR. MCDANIEL: Okay.
MR. DODSON: Jefferson Middle School. So I was really impressed with this school and he had asked me if I could come back, and I said,“Well, I'd be happy to but Maryville College - not Maryville College but Maryville High School has offered me a position.” He said,“Well, how would you like to work here.” (Laughter). So I said,“Well, I think this would be a great place because I had heard nothing bad about Oak Ridge.” It was one of the leaders in the State of Tennessee and I thought this is a perfect place to raise a family. So I told him yeah I'd be happy to, and then after that I got subsequent interviews with Dr. Smallridge and after that I was hired.
MR. MCDANIEL: Now so what made you decide on Oak Ridge in a middle school over Maryville in a high school?
MR. DODSON: Well, I guess again . . .
MR. MCDANIEL: Because you wanted to do high school. I guess you wanted the older kids, the more advanced.
MR. DODSON: Actually, I had gone to Central High School for my internship, so.
MR. MCDANIEL: And where is that?
MR. DODSON: Central High School is in North Knoxville.
MR. MCDANIEL: Okay. All right.
MR. DODSON: So I had that for my internship and I felt comfortable with that, and I actually - I was - I was kind of naive. I thought middle school kids can't do the things that high school kids can.
MR. MCDANIEL: Right.
MR. DODSON: And then I soon found out that when I got the job and I worked there, they can do it. In fact, they bring a little bit more motivation to some of these things, and you get to see more of a wide gamut of younger kids and older kids. So, and it's never - never boring at a middle school.
MR. MCDANIEL: And I would imagine middle school is - you know, they're - they're just beginning to find their creative talent. So they - so they don't have the blinders on that maybe high school kids do.
MR. DODSON: Exactly.
MR. MCDANIEL: You know, so.
MR. DODSON: And I'm loving every day when I teach a fifth grader. They come in there. Everybody wants to help you out. Everybody's really super motivated.
MR. MCDANIEL: Right.
MR. DODSON: They haven't been jaded by society.
MR. MCDANIEL: Right, exactly. Exactly.
MR. DODSON: And then when you get a little older, the eighth graders are a little bit more leery of things, but they have the - I guess manual dexterity. They can really accomplish some of these more challenging art projects.
MR. MCDANIEL: Okay.
MR. DODSON: But then when you get into high school, you're more specialized I guess. The kids - kids are going to go into art or they're going to go into another field. They're at the precipice. They don't know where they're going to go and you're actually shaping somebody's future in middle school. I think that's where you need to be.
MR. MCDANIEL: Now, let me go back to - you mentioned you had your art degree. The emphasis was in print making.
MR. DODSON: Right.
MR. MCDANIEL: What is that?
MR. DODSON: Well, print making - I'll describe it this way.
MR. MCDANIEL: You have a degree. So you ought to be able to tell me.
MR. DODSON: I should. I should. Print making - the best way to describe it, it's multiple originals. If you go into an art gallery and you see reproductions, those are kind of like copies that you would make. Prints are more of - if I take a lithography stone and I draw and grease - with grease pencils and I ink that up and I print that, that's the original. So it's multiple originals and a lithograph refers to a stone and then you're drawing on the stone and you're pulling off multiple originals. And that's a plain-o-graphic which . . .
MR. MCDANIEL: You've lost me.
MR. DODSON: I've lost you.
MR. MCDANIEL: I don't know what the stone is. I don't understand that, but that's okay. I'm not an artist, so.
MR. DODSON: And then you've got other areas. You've got relief printing. That's where you carve into a piece of wood or a piece of linoleum and the relief or the surface areas that you left, you put ink on that and you print that.
MR. MCDANIEL: Right.
MR. DODSON: You've seen things like t-shirts. That's serigraph or silk screen printing. That's where you put ink through a screen of silk.
MR. MCDANIEL:Yeah.
MR. DODSON: And the stencil keeps the ink from passing in certain areas. Everybody knows that. Everybody's wearing one of those.
MR. MCDANIEL: Yeah, exactly.
MR. DODSON: And then you have intallio or you have etching, and that's where you're working on a metal plate and you're etching it with acid or you're scratching into it with a stylus and the ink goes down into the cracks. Not onto the surface but into the cracks and that's printed. So you've got about four areas of print making. That's why enjoyed it so much and one - I think one of the main reasons I enjoyed it at that time was I actually made an edition of 50 prints of the Pigeon Forge water wheel and I sold 40 of those. I made money and I also still had my originals. So I didn't have to part with my original piece of artwork.
MR. MCDANIEL: Right, right.
MR. DODSON: Which was fine.
MR. MCDANIEL: Now is that - this is kind of off the subject, but that is - that is an artist process. I mean, it's not a manufacturing process.
MR. DODSON: No.
MR. MCDANIEL: I mean, it's really a fine artist process.
MR. DODSON: And there's - you know, step-by-step-by-step but it is an artist process.
MR. MCDANIEL: Right. Now, if it's manufacturing, they put it on a printing press and print it out, you know, so.
MR. DODSON: And I remember printing an edition of 50 there of Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville on Central, and I was doing this for the priest who had his Jubilee, his 50th year of being a priest at that church.My wife and I, we stayed there eight hours straight printing those.
MR. MCDANIEL: Is that right?
MR. DODSON: It took that long to go through that edition.
MR. MCDANIEL: Wow. Wow. Okay. All right. So, you're an expert on that. But you're an expert in lots of different things in art because I've seen that from what you teach your kids. So you've got this job at Jefferson and what year was that?
MR. DODSON: 1987.
MR. MCDANIEL: 1987. You got your job at Jefferson and started there, and you are still at that same job.
MR. DODSON: Right.
MR. MCDANIEL: So that's how many years? 28, 29?
MR. DODSON: 28 years.
MR. MCDANIEL: 28 years. Tell me about it. Tell me about those 28 years. What are some of the - first of all, what's it like to teach art to middle schoolers? Go there and then we'll move on someplace else, especially as it relates to Oak Ridge. What's unique about Oak Ridge kids maybe?