By Clare Marie Celano
Correspondent
Elaine Smith spent much of her life making art and helping others to do the same. Smith, 79, died on Feb. 26, leaving behind a legacy that her family is hoping will live on through her work.
Smith’s daughter, Maire Tashjian, described her mother’s passion for art and her dedication to teaching others how to bring art into their lives.
“My mom was art,” Tashjian siad. “It was inside her; the way she painted, the way she dressed, the way she looked at the world and the people in it.”
Tashjian said Smith, who was a native of Freehold Borough, was a self-taught artist. She had formal art training later in life when she attended the Omega Institute. Tashjian said the formal training was a turning point in Smith’s art because it allowed her to access even more of her talent.
Smith’s family is creating the Elaine Smith Memorial Art Scholarship Inc. to help young people pursue a career in art and to honor her desire to teach the art she so loved. Smith worked as a secretary for the Freehold Borough K-8 School District until she retired in 1999. She taught art at the Around the Corner Art Center, Freehold Township, for 22 years where she was known as Miss Elaine.
“She inspired and guided hundreds of students through the creative world she believed was everyone’s heritage,” Tashjian said. “Her students and her art were her life.”
Smith retired from teaching four years ago, but continued to enter art competitions. Her last entry was in the 2014 Monmouth County Senior Citizen Art Contest and Exhibition where she placed third in the watercolors category.
Smith worked in watercolors, pastels, pen and ink, colored pencils and charcoal, creating portraits, landscapes, flowers and people. She was often commissioned to do various pieces.
“My mom was born with the trait of looking at something and was able to recreate it, seeing it with an artist’s eye,” Tashjian said.
Smith began teaching art when she was 14, according to Tashjian. She taught her cousin, Paddie, 4, in the attic of their grandmother’s house.
Merrill Tilker, the owner of the Around the Corner Art Center, said Smith was driven to learn and to master her craft, and to teach what she learned.
“She wanted to teach every person she met how to draw and she did,” Tilker said. “Her students wanted to expand their work to learn watercolors, pastels and other mediums and she was able to master those mediums herself to teach her students. She had a unique ability to connect with students no matter what age they were. She will be deeply missed.”
Steven Lindenbaum of Marlboro was one of Smith’s students. He now teaches art to individuals with disabilities at the Deron School II, Montclair. He studied with Smith from the age of 13 to 18 and considers her to be a “major” influence in his life.
“Miss Elaine was a wonderful art teacher, mentor and person, and her presence is missed by all. She taught me not only art, but the importance of passion and creativity in other aspects of life,” he said. “Miss Elaine pushed me to explore new mediums and broaden my horizons. She showed us her love of art and her passion for its place in the world, which was very inspiring.”
“My mother always inspired us to follow our dreams,” Tashjian said of herself and her siblings. “She encouraged us, me with my music, Chris with his acting career, Thomas with his comedy and modeling, and Ronnie with his art, singing and music.”
Ronnie Tashjian died in 1991 at the age of 33.
In retirement, Smith produced an amazing body of work, according to her daughter.
“She finally had the time to devote to her art,” Tashjian said, her love and admiration for her mother clearly visible.
Smith graduated from Freehold High School, attended Brookdale Community College and the Omega Institute, New York. She was a juried member of the Pastel Society of America and her art exhibits included Avery Fischer Hall, Lincoln Center Collaborative Art Show.
“Becoming a juried member of the Pastel Society of America was one of her proudest moments,” Tashjian said.
Smith was a member of the Freehold Art Society, the Guild of Creative Art and the Art Society of Monmouth County
Tashjian is working with Jeff Friedman, the owner of the Freehold Art Gallery, Freehold Borough, to create a memorial art show for Smith.
“My mom was a beautiful giving spirit whose guiding light will shine forever in our hearts,” she said. “And I believe her essence is still here. I believe it is in everyone whose life she touched.”
Anyone wishing to support the scholarship fund may send a donation to the Around the Corner Art Center, 290 Mount’s Corner Drive, Freehold, NJ 07726. Checks should be made out to the Elaine Smith Memorial Art Scholarship Inc.
