Retire Right......A Not So Retiring Artist

From the side, I thought Hills Snyder was Neil Young.  Well, it could have been. 

We were on the Raptor Freedom Cruise Boat, the kind of thing Neil Young would do. After all we were very near Austin and that definitely is the singer's kind of town.  But I was mistaken.

A couple of hours into the boat trip, I had an opportunity to speak with Hills. He was more than friendly and very personable. We exchanged information on Indian cultures and I asked if he was retired or near retirement. He dodged the question as if he were nervous about ever considering the thought of retirement. I learned he was an artist in San Antonio. We exchanged phone numbers and left open the possibility of an interview and blog participation.

Pictures from the Road, Miami, Florida

Within a few days I called Hills and we set a date for coffee.  He suggested a coffee shop in a part of San Antonio I didn't know. It would be good for me to get to the King William district to see a little of old San Antonio.

Road Pictures, Terlingua, Texas

As it turns out Hills is not retired. He is quite possibly at the peak of his career. It seems Hills is an artist of some renown. Our chance meeting on the boat turned into a lengthy coffee house conversation. 

I want to do Hills justice in this article. I want to capture the spirit of the man. But I'm not sure I'm capable. To me Snyder is the guy you think of when someone says "he marches to a different drummer". I don't say that in a negative manner. Hills is an artist. I am probably the opposite most ways, yet alike in many others. I had conflicting connections going on the entire time we talked.

Peru

I asked Hills some very personal questions about his ideas on life. He looked me right in the eye as he explained his take on the world. We challenged each other on our philosophical differences. I enjoyed the conversation and never felt as if I was being told my way was wrong or his idea was better.

Our conversation went far past an interview. When our time was done, I felt I knew Hills Snyder. Due to his intellect and honesty he was a man I could respect.

Pictures from the Road, North of Artesia, New Mexico

I asked him for pictures of his work and something about himself. He sent some really interesting items. The ones above are what he calls "pictures from the road". Two pictures of wife Caralyn and himself are from high school.

Hills Snyder has his under grad degree in Painting and his masters in Sculpture. Presently, he is a full time professional Artist as well as Director and Curator of a non profit art gallery called Sala Diaz. He has been with the Sala Diaz since 1997. The gallery is located in the fashionable King William District of San Antonio. 

Over a forty year career, Hills has built up a good client base. In addition to doing art projects and curating, he is involved in many art related gigs which might not be considered creative art but require artist expertise. An example would be consulting on the proper method of shipping or storing valuable works of art. 

The most recent show at Sala Diaz was by two artists
Hills met in Peru, brothers David and Danny Frank.

Hills work allows him to follow another passion, travel. His relationship with Sala Diaz took him to Spain for the ARCO art fair. His other trips to Luxembourg, Amsterdam and London have had to do with art projects he did in those cities. 

Road work, Peru

Hills next big project is something he is working on for San Antonio's Blue Star Contemporary Arts Center. The show will be called "Casual Observer" and will open Sept. 30th and close November 6th. Hills will be creating and installing the show in public during the period of September 4th through 30th.

 Travel is a big part of Hills life and he tries to include it into his professional career. In 2006 he spent five weeks in Peru and went back in 2008/2009 for another month, this time with Caralyn. In addition to studying Peruvian art he is learning a great deal about the indigenous cultures and religions of the region. I was amazed at his in-depth knowledge of the Chavin culture.

From 1997 to 2005 Hills went to Amsterdam many times. While there he worked and studied art. When I asked why ten trips to the same European city, he shrugged and said he fell in love with the town.

Making Ice Cream

More travel is on the horizon. Snyder will be participating in a group show at the John Tevis Gallery in Paris next year. 

Of late Hills has become more involved in writing and recently attended a writer's conference called the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference. He explained his work is typically about art and is published by various art magazines. He always tries to use a good deal of humor.

From "Book of the Dead"

Several times in the past he has represented the Sala Diaz at ARCO in Madrid. It is a huge exhibit from galleries all over the world. The intent is to represent the San Antonio Art scene to other nations. His job is to take art work from the gallery to build an exhibit for the show. 

"A Little Known Fact about the Oregon Trail"

In 2002 Hills went to Banff, Alberta for a seven week residency. During that time he produced a piece called "Steam". This very complicated project involved an artist's take with bicycle parts and ambient sounds of a city. I didn't quite get it. He spent countless sessions, editing hours and hours of sound for the project. 

Hills is married to Caralyn his high school sweetheart and has two sons, one an artist and the other a chef. We agreed a chef is just as artistic as any other artist.

Laguna Negra, Peru

Hills enjoys U.S. history, especially that of the Texas region. Learning I enjoyed some of the same historical interests he recommended a book called "Empire of the Summer Moon" by S.C. Gwynne. It is about the Comanche people. I read excerpts on the New York Times online and will buy the book. If you are a history buff you might want to consider it.

We left the coffee house and went to see the Sala Diaz. The Gallery and the stories he told about the exhibits were amazing. As I was leaving I asked him when he would retire. He looked me square in the eye and said, "Never! I'm having too much fun". Then he asked, "when are you going to retire" ? I said "what do you think" ? He said, "Never" !  I grinned, we laughed. 

To learn more about this very interesting guy you might go to his web site which is: 

                  www.hillssnyder.com

He can be reached at hillssnyder@gmail.com

I hope you enjoy reading about these people as much as I like getting to know them. The stories are here to help "boomers" learn there is more to retirement than sitting in a recliner and waiting to die. 

And remember....there has to be one more little adventure out there...just one more. Grab it. Don't let the years turn you into a dullard. 

Enjoy,

John Boykin

john@commimage.com

www.commimage.com        (photography)