A Loving Tribute to Joyce M. Soliman

Joyce Soliman was an Art Teacher for Lake Mills Public Schools for over 40 years,..

giving art instruction to several generations of local families. 

She instilled grace, compassion and encouraged imagination and creativity in everyone around her.

Albert Einstein once said, "Imagination is more important than Knowledge. Knowledge is limited." 

With Imagination, you can go anywhere.

Joyce was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The daughter of Clifford and Florence (Downey) Hampshire. She earned a degree in Art Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She married and had 2 sons. 

The early 70s found her in the Lake Mills area accepting a position as Art Teacher for Lake Mills Public Schools.She began at High School level. Then moved to Junior High, then back to High School again. Eventually moving to Elementary level until her retirement.  At the start, part of her duties included driving to both Grellton and Milford schools each week to teach what they called "art on a cart." Where she would roll a cart with lessons and materials directly into regular classrooms to give art lessons to classes several hours during the week. She also taught Art in the Summer Recreation programs each year, during summertime breaks. And she continued to take college classes that were of interest to broaden her knowledge. She also regularly attended yearly National Art Education conventions held in major cities around the country, making contacts and experiencing new materials and methods of creating artwork. 

Joyce was a great leader of keeping ART relevant in schools and in the public eye. She regularly went outside of requirements setting up art shows at nearby colleges, shopping malls and estate shows. As well as, public displays of her students artwork at other schools, stores, retirement homes, banks and in local shop windows. She tirelessly fought to keep ART alive and important in the community. Her hard fought battles to keep the ART program in schools from being either reduced (usually in favor of yet another sports program) or eliminated altogether could only be known by someone living in her immediately household. She was once told point blank by a superior that he wanted a man in her positions. While a career woman in the workplace may aspire to many things. Becoming a different sex is not one of them. Nor should it ever have to be. The record will show that each time Joyce vacated a level, she was replaced by a male teacher, as per those principals stated desires. And each position also became a part time teaching position, as well. The powers that be rarely value the need for imagination and creativity to be developed and practiced. Art classes were the only place you were welcomed, enticed and encouraged to use parts of your brain that no other class could offer. Memorizing and learning by the book is one type of learning. But educating yourself to think creatively and dare to bring something of yourself to the learning experience are a completely different muscles to exercise.

When Joyce left at the Elementary level, the school system lost a great champion for encouraging inventive thought & creativity in the learning experience. Certain individuals who earned to express themselves creatively could still go the ART classes and find a place there. But the tireless efforts of Mrs. Soliman were no longer in service. When she retired, Joyce continued to regularly fill Sketchbooks with all manner of both amazingly original still life artwork. As well as, outlandish otherworldly fantasies that seemed to spring to life out of nowhere. Almost as if she were on some personal schedule to fill a sketchbook each month. She enjoyed Gardening, spending time with her sons and her cats and even got to travel the world a bit.

She passed away peacefully at the age of 85 on January 10, 2025.

It was my great pleasure to know her. And the world is a lesser place without her presence in it.

While it is difficult to properly sum up a person's lifes work. 

Joyce Soliman taught students to dare to dream and to BE CREATIVE To have an imagination and learn to use it. Dare to be imaginative in everything that you can.

While I'm sure this means little to those who may think they might have only slight talent in this direction.

I can only say that for me, it gave self-expression, self-worth and self-awareness that I never would have gained without direction.

Her influence and support made better people of those she touched.

The richness and value of attempting to instill creativity and self-determination in others I leave for you to decide.

But as a very, very wise man once said,... with IMAGINATION you can go any where.