Teri L. Sullivan
WKNO Promotions Manager
(901) 729-8735
tlsullivan@wkno.org
October 21, 2009
For Immediate Release
WKNO SALUTES DONATING ARTIST DR. BOB CANADY
Acclaimed artist Dr. Bob Canady has been a long-time WKNO supporter. This year, Dr. Canady’s original stained glass lamp is among the many items that will be auctioned off during the premier Art of Fine Living, A WKNO Auction.
The artist’s studio is in The University of Memphis district, where he lives with this wife, Dr. Shirley Raines, who is President of The University. Dr. Canady has been creating since he was four years old, when he went to school with his older brother who was in the sixth grade. “The teacher gave me a pencil and paper to keep me happy,” he said. “When he asked me what it was that I drew, I told him it was a dog. He said ‘but that dog doesn’t have any ears.’ I told him that it was a streamlined dog and the whole class roared with laughter. That’s when I knew I wanted to be an artist.”
Dr. Canady’s art career began with cartooning. He drew cartoons for his university paper and was the base cartoonist while in the Air Force. He received his B.A. in art at Chapman College in California and then taught art for several years. He realized he wanted to get into general education to improve some situations and got his Masters at Western New Mexico University.
Dr. Canady was concerned about the art budgets being cut everywhere and began pursuing ways in which teachers could use the arts throughout their regular coursework. He then received his doctorate in education and taught language arts for a while, all the time including art in all that he taught.
Since retiring, he has found his greatest artistic love in stained glass. He has done stained glass windows for ten different churches and is currently working on windows for First United Methodist Church in downtown Memphis, which was destroyed in a fire in 2006. Dr. Canady’s art is given to charities. He does not sell his work. He says he donates to WKNO because “it is one of the best quality channels on television.” He especially enjoys Antiques Roadshow, Charlie Rose, Southern Routes (which recently did a segment on Dr. Canady), and This Old House.
Dr. Canady’s work, as well as the work of other well-known Mid-South artists, can be bid on by going to the auction website at wkno.org. Bidding on auction items will close online and on-air simultaneously during the live broadcast of The Art of Fine Living, A WKNO Auction. About 200 pieces of art and another 100 exotic travel packages and delicious dining opportunities will be auctioned off live on Channel 10 Saturday-Sunday November 7-8 from 1:00 to 11:00 p.m.
The art up for auction can be viewed anytime online at wkno.org or at the new WKNO Digital Media Center, which is open for previewing Monday – Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The WKNO Digital Media Center is located in Cordova at 7151 Cherry Farms Road.
WKNO is a non-profit, private foundation serving the Mid-South for more than 50 years.
An important community resource, WKNO uses the power of non-commercial public broadcasting to provide the Mid-South with quality educational and cultural programs that inform, entertain, and inspire. For more information: wkno.org
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