John Caldwell

John Caldwell spent his entire childhood in Merryweather with no plans to leave.  His father owned the local newspaper, Merry’s Word, and his mother taught kindergarten at one of the local grade schools.  John was an only child.  They led a stable life, committed to family and community.  They raised John to be hard working and reliable.  When his gifts as an artist emerged, they felt inadequate to understand and nurture John in the ways he needed.  He was always sketching or doodling or hauling out his oil paints to capture moments on canvas.  He grew up to be a good-natured, likeable person, but with an artist’s disposition for being caught up in his own thoughts, and dreams.  He studied art at the local college, unaware of any larger world of art outside of Merryweather.  His talent was far beyond the institution that he attended, but he felt fortunate for the only education his parents could afford.

(Character sketches created by the composer.  All people and places are fictional.)