Michael Green: Still teaching art (and making it, too)

Apr. 4—Michael Green wasn't exactly putting his best face forward Wednesday afternoon, but it was still pretty good.

And to be fair, it was an art lesson on the fly.

That was after a guy with a notebook, who, for the record, can't even render stick figures the same way twice, had asked him about the deceptively tricky task of drawing faces—something that's not as easy as it might look, obviously.

Except Green, who taught art in Monongalia County Schools for 37 years and has been a practicing artist for even longer, did make it look easy on that rainy day at Annie's Coffee and Creamery.

The popular ice cream and coffee shop on Fort Pierpont Road is where he's hosting an art showing and sale on Saturday—but first things first.

"Yeah, lemme borrow your pen for a second, " he said.

On a page from that notebook (and right down from all those quotes he'd just given) and with that pen, he made it happen.

That face, that is.

"OK, you start out with an oval, " he said.

"And you want to make a couple of crosses to get your scale, " he continued.

Call it an organic grid—those intersecting lines—if there is such a thing.

The nose goes in the center.

The eyes are right above.

Two more lines below the nose to suggest a mouth.

All proportioned, all somewhat symmetrical.

Somewhat, because no face is "perfect." Not even the ones belonging to supermodels.

"And there you go, " he said of the rendering that was cartoon-y and realistic, at the same time.

"See how it all flows ? It's natural."

Of milkshakes and Mr. Warhol As said, artwork of all media, is just part of the natural wellspring for Green, who couldn't run more that counter to that old (and misinformed) adage: "Those who can't—teach."

"That one really gets on my nerves, " he allowed.

"I've never known an art teacher who wasn't an artist, " he continued, meaning one who wasn't compelled to create.

"Everybody's an artist, " he said.

"You, me, toddlers. Think about that. The first thing you ever drew was in crayon on the kitchen wall when you were little."

Green draws and paints on conventional canvases.

And burlap coffee bags.

And paper towels (yes, really).

He's been known to create whole landscapes and cityscapes from coffee grounds, even—because that's just how the muse was percolating on that particular day.

Ask him to define his style, and he'll laugh.

"Andy Warhol meets Picasso at South Beach. Big colors and bold lines. Lots of cubistic forms."

If you have yet to regard his work, you can Saturday at Annie's Coffee and Creamery.

The "Get off the COWch " event—a gleeful bit of wordplay lending to both the ice cream shop and his dairy farm roots in Morgantown—is a show and a sale, at the same time.

It runs from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., featuring live music and a meet-and-greet with the artist himself.

And if you buy a framed piece of art—he'll buy you one of the creamery's famous milkshakes in return. He's partial to strawberry, himself.

"Best milkshakes in Morgantown, best milkshakes ever. Write that down."

Abby Cormack, meanwhile, didn't have to write it down, the first time Green sauntered in.

A character on the mother ship After earning degrees in journalism, English literature and business from Duquesne, and then living for a year in Ireland, the Fairmont native came back to West Virginia to put the final etchings to her resume.

In the professional lull, Cormack took a job as a barista at the creamery—where she was immediately taken by the teacher and artist.

For one thing, he looked the part.

He was his own visual representative: with his tie-dyed shirts, knit stocking caps (a friend makes them for him) and his signature, Beat Generation horn rims.

Cormack, who is now manager of the establishment, immediately liked his personality, his big laugh and, once she found out, the big artistic talent to go with it.

"Mike's a character, " she said.

"He's a regular now. We love it when he shows up."

She loves that the creamery locally sources everything on its menu—including the artists and musicians who are now part of the deal.

"We want our place to be everybody's place, " she said.

"This is one of my 'motherships, '" Green said.

He has several. That's what he calls the places he can go to recharge and engage, in the same moment.

Same for his professional place: Hog Fence Studio and Gallery, on Brockway Avenue.

For the full view, visit his Artwork by Michael Green page on Facebook.

At his studio one can show up to regard art and talk issues, while "feeling safe, " he said.

"Which is what it's always about, " he said.

'I just kind of blurted it out'

Art is what he's always been about.

Green was among the inaugural faculty of North Elementary School, when it opened on Chestnut Ridge Road. After a nearly four-decade career, he retired from Morgantown High, which is also his alma mater.

As a kid, his favorite teacher at MHS, not surprisingly, was his art teacher Ann Linger, who is still with us and is coming to his meet-and-greet Saturday at the creamery.

"Can you believe it ? I'm thrilled."

Ms. Linger may have even subconsciously led to his chosen vocation.

It was freshman orientation at WVU, and Green had said all along he was going to be a social studies teacher.

Until he stepped up to the table.

And the woman asked, "What do you want to do, young man ? What's your major ?"

He didn't have to paint a picture.

No one needed to draw a smile on his face.

"I just kind of blurted it out, " he said.

"I said, 'I'm gonna be an art teacher.' And I never regretted it. As much as I love being an artist, I love being a teacher, first."

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