Contemporary abstract impressionist Boni Ryan, who is 76 years old, and her 7-year-old great niece, Maggie Heitman, are trailblazing the art scene in Seattle. Ryan and 66-year-old abstract texturalist Rex Batson have been showing their work at local restaurants. These restaurants are family owned, and the artwork is a family affair.
Seven-year-old Maggie Heitman had her first piece featured at S/T Hooligans Restaurant in the Fremont neighborhood at 4354 Leary Way NW, Seattle. The restaurant was named after The Smiths song Sweet & Tender Hooligan by chef/owner Rodel Borromeo and serves French-creole- BBQ, burgers, fresh oysters and award-winning fried chicken.
Maggie is excited to have some of her art showing at Hooligans. Her mother says every day her daughter amazes her in so many ways. “I’ve always known she was gifted because she makes art out of anything. She has always come home from school with a backpack full of art. She started making laptops and phones a few years ago,” said Jessica Heitman. “Or she’ll get paper and scissors and tape and make a whole purse and cut out everything to go inside like lipstick and money and credit cards all from paper”
Maggie gets her talent honestly. Her great aunt and both of her parents are artists. Ryan has been painting with Maggie and buying her art supplies. Ryan thinks it is vital that children are encouraged at the earliest age possible to develop their unique talents.
“My mother entered me into an art contest at her college alma mater and I won the art contest. My aunt in California had sent me art supplies because she heard I enjoyed drawing. I won the art contest, and my picture was hanging in the St. Louis art museum. Another Aunt bought the picture and had it framed professionally. It is still in our family,” said Ryan.
Borromeo said the art speaks for itself and he never cared at all about the artist’ age, whether young or old. “Age was not a factor at all. The art is what you look at. The art fills in empty spaces and beautifies the room. People seem to enjoy looking at them and some have been purchased,” said Borromeo.
Rex Batson, who has had work featured at Hooligans the past two years said he recently took a college course, and it was not only enlightening but highly invigorating. “I just finished a figure drawing class, which really forced me to look at what I draw or paint. It provided some rules and guidelines that actually do provide a framework for examining and reproducing the body in terms of scale and proportion. It also made me realize the illusion of and boring nature of exact reproduction,” said Batson.
Maggie Heitman’s and Boni Ryan’s paintings are also featured at the family run restaurant Laem Buri, which has some of the best Thai food in the city. It is in Greenwood at 8530 Greenwood Ave N. in Seattle.
Both Hooligans and Laem Buri have family members training younger family members. Now, the artists are mirroring what occurs in the restaurants. One generation is learning from the next.
John Schieszer is an award-winning national journalist and radio and podcast broadcaster of The Medical Minute. He can be reached at medicalminutes@gmail.com
