This retired Sacramento art teacher taught for 31 years. Now he’s having his first show
Clint Bodene has held a number of titles over the decades, chief among them: husband, educator, world traveler.
He now embraces his new role as he roars along in his 60s, nowhere ready to comprehend full retirement.
“I’m an artist,” Bodene said with a laugh. “I love how that sounds.”
Bodene retired last summer after 31 years of teaching in the Sacramento City Unified School District. He taught topics such as mathematics, chemistry, life science and ceramics. He especially enjoyed the arts, transforming lumps of clay into something much more striking.
His hobby is his passion, and now it’s his calling. Bodene will host his first art show — “Torsos,” ceramics by Clint Bodene — on Aug. 13 in downtown Sacramento. The event will be held by the Sacramento Art Glass at 202 23rd Street from 3 to 9 p.m., where Bodene will show and tell his collection of sculptures. Each project began with an idea and a lump of clay and morphed into striking life-size pieces. He has described it as fine art meeting clay sculptures, all of it inspired by modern paintings.
Bodene has gone from a teacher of such crafts to artist, and he’s never been more delighted. If this is the joys of retirement, Bodene said, then the more the merrier.
“I’m both excited and nervous about the show,” Bodene said. “I’m not nervous about the quality of my work. I’m nervous about putting on a show because I’ve never done it before. It’s all unknown for me. And there’s a question of who’s going to show up.”
Bodene said the last part with more laughter. He is serious about what he does but he doesn’t take himself too seriously.
“Funny thing is,” Bodene added, “I’m handing out flyers to everyone I know and everyone I don’t know.”
At the least, attend the event to be charmed by Cathie, Bodene’s wife of 32 years. She will be the host, shaking hands, handing out glasses of wine and pointing to her husband to explain his sculptures. Cathie worked for years as a court reporter in Sacramento. The Bodenes have traveled the globe together, always sure to include a museum. He proposed to her in 1989 during a trip to Rome, the backdrop of the Colosseum making it impossible for her to say no.
“Cathie supports me on all of this,” Bodene said. “I don’t know how long I’ve harbored this fantasy that I can make a body of work out of clay into something worthy of an art reception, like the many I’ve been to. Once I started getting into this particular work, I really enjoyed it. And I think it’s good stuff. I’ve been to museums all over the world, the best museums in France, Italy, New York, Chicago. When we travel, that’s what we do, and I’ll spend a day in a museum.”
Bodene said his desire to create “is genetic, from my dad. My training has been through museums and admiring high-end art.”
Bodene’s father, Donald, was a jack of all trades when Bodene grew up in Michigan. Father stressed to son that he should use his hands and his brain to create and to enjoy those creations. His father could work over a house, or make any number of leather projects, or woodworking. Bodene said he and his father grew closer over time, adding, “And he lived long enough to see me become a teacher. He was proud of me.”
Bodene credited two since-retired area ceramics teachers for giving him skills in community college courses he took well after his Sacramento State graduation. This was some 20 years ago, when the urge to make art compelled him to pursue it. Yoshio Taylor taught such courses at Cosumnes River College and Chris Daubert at Sacramento City College. Both were well-known artists.
“Yoshio taught me how to work in clay,” Bodene said. “I needed to know how to learn clay if I was going to teach courses in it (at Rosemont High School). He was a big deal. So was Taylor. He taught me A to Z how to paint.”
Bodene said that, like a writer, chef or musician, there are times the brain slows down even if his hands want to keep working on the project.
“I’ll walk away from it for 24 hours because I’m constantly running stuff through my mind,” Bodene said. “Hit a block, cover it up and take a break. I come up with lots of ideas on what to make. I build them, execute them, look at them, and sometimes I think, ‘Hey, that’s really good!’ Or, sometimes, I get lucky and it’s even better than I expected. That’s the interesting thing about ceramics. When you fire up clay at 2,000 degrees, there’s a huge unpredictability about how it’ll turn out, which is really cool.”
Bodene said he would encourage anyone at any age to do what his father preached: use the mind and hands.
“Absolutely. Follow your passion,” he said. “This was the logical extension for me. I knew by the time I was wrapping up my career as a teacher that I’d make this happen.”
His greatest fear for his first art show?
“Someone bringing in a cup of paint and throwing it on my art and saying, ‘This is blasphemy!’” Bodene said with more laughter. Bodene is confident, but he’s also human. The nerves are there.
“If the show is a success, then I’ll continue to create,” Bodene said. “I have 50 more ideas in my head. I won’t be shy about it!”
This story was originally published August 4, 2022 at 8:12 AM.