-Ms. Frances Rutnik -"Bowl of Sugar"

Ms Frances Rutnik- “Bowl of Sugar”

by Natalie Dalmida

All paintings by Ms. Rutnik

“I remember my senior year in high school. My best memory was that one day we did our senior pranks,” said Ms. Frances Rutnik.

With such a sneaky grin on my face, I asked, “What did you guys do?"

Ms. Rutnik replied, “We snuck into the school bathrooms and we all walked with a jar of vaseline. We were hyped to do much more, but we were short in supply. We counted down 5 -4-3-2 -1, then we then popped open our jars of vaseline and spread grease over all the toilet seats. Girls covered all girls’ bathrooms and boys did the same to the boys’ bathroom.”

She later told me they had to clean the mess up, but “Just seeing you guys [seniors] do the crazy things you do brings back a lot of memories."

Throughout the year, Ms. Rutnik and I have grown a tight bond. (The only problem we had was the use of my electronic devices.) Ms. Rutnik only wishes the best for everyone and doesn't praise disobedience. Her advice to us young people is, “Stay focused, work hard and you will succeed.” Even though she is an art teacher, Ms. Rutnik pushes beyond her area to help you with any subject. She is kind hearted and gets along well with teenagers and understands them more than any other teacher I know.

Frances Rutnik was born in 1954 in Albany, New York. She was the sixth of all seven siblings. Having all brothers made her feel protected and confident about not being bullied. She was also a daddy's girl. She enjoyed being around her father because of his friendly, open personality and also his taste in music.

“My father, Francis George, was a jazz freak. I use to mimic the sound of the instruments to every song on his playlist. I started to listen to jazz and now I'm a jazz freak,” she said with a grin on her face. She also enjoyed time with her mother, Margaret Allen, baking and preparing different meals. “I dipped my hand into every batter we mixed, salty or sweet.”

As we both sat there in the cool air, I flashed back on my childhood and said, “I guess every girl's childhood has many things in common.”

Ms. Rutnik attended Vincentian Institute of Albany, New York. Like many other teens, in her junior year of high school she chose to get a part time job.

I asked “What was your first job like?”

“I worked at Woolworth’s, a department store similar to Kmart," she replied. “I got that job in my late 11th grade year of high school. I worked at the Luncheonette counter, waiting on people for breakfast, lunch and dinner.”

Ms. Rutnik attended the Junior College of Albany & Nazareth of Rochester, New York, along with College of St. Rose in Albany, New York. She attended both with plans of becoming an educator in the field of art.

Having only one sister, Ms. Rutnik grew close to her five brothers. She was very close to her second oldest brother, Douglas P. Rutnik, and his wife, Polly Rutnik. She looked up to Polly because she was an attorney and also a mother of three. She was a “working MOM,” her very own role model.

“Polly was there for me through it all, and never doubted any of my decisions. I can trust Polly through every and anything that took place between us both," she explained. “Having someone you can trust with no doubts may be hard to find, but as soon as you feel that moment of honesty along with loyalty, cherish it and hold it tight.”

She has learned a lot about people throughout her life. “I’m a Catholic and I believe in God; people may make wrong choices, but we must all forgive and move on," she added.

Ms. Rutnik picked up a paintbrush as a pause came along in the interview. She asked me what my favorite two colors were. “Purple and blue," I replied.

Being that this was watercolor paint she was using, she dipped the brush into the cup of water and placed it on the paper soon after. Ms. Rutnik showed me three of her favorite watercolor techniques.

Thirty minutes later, the objects she used to create texture were taken off. I was amazed by how fast it was done and how beautiful it turned out. It inspired me to include those techniques in my own art work.

The bell rang and lunch was over. We both wrapped it up with the last question. I asked her if she enjoys teaching at Ivanna Eudora Kean High School.

“I love teaching at Kean High; there are so many things that I enjoy about Kean. We are all one big family, and I would hate if anything changes that. The students are always happy, and we teachers are the mothers to our children," she said. “ I don't want to retire, but my time is near; my body is winding down," she added.

"Are you sure because you seem quite hip to me," I barged in.

She smiled and said, " I'm getting tired, Natalie, I need a long vacation." We both gave each others great big hugs and I left for my third period class.