“Art is the conversation between lovers.” That’s what the Persian lyric poet Hafiz said, and it’s what artist John Sager believes—and his life with wife Joni must be a testament to the quote—one long, beautiful conversation.
The two met at TLU, still Texas Lutheran College at the time. The year was 1976. Joni recalls the day clearly. “The Theology/Philosophy Department organized an evening lecture on Eastern Philosophy on campus. Since we were the only two students who showed up, we had a chance to talk.”
Having met, it was natural that the two sat next to each other in their logic philosophy class. Even so, Joni was surprised when John asked her out. She was rolling silverware at the Varsity Inn, then a favorite university hangout, where she worked as a waitress. “Luckily I said yes!”
“Joni always thanks me for picking her, but it is I who must thank her every day,” says John. “She shares and supports our artistic life with love, passion, and the computer savvy necessary for a modern art practice.”
It really was serendipitous that the two even both ended up at Texas Lutheran in the first place. Joni went to high school in California and when she took the PSAT as a junior, she signed up for the college search. “The information I received from TLU really impressed me,” she says. “I was further enchanted when we flew to San Antonio to tour TLU. My grandfather was also a Lutheran pastor who recommended the school. My folks went to Saudi Arabia to work for the airlines so staying home to go to college wasn’t an option!”
Meanwhile, John had been in Minnesota, studying urban design at Augsburg University. But after two years, he felt no clear direction there. “So I took off with my best friend David Nelson to spend a year working in Nebraska and then a year in Bellingham, Washington. David started back to school, which gave me the impetus to go back too.” John had relatives who’d graduated TLU, as well as several Lutheran pastors in his family. So, he gassed up his white Chevy van and showed up in Seguin the day before classes started. “I’m glad TLU was able to accept me,” he says in hindsight.
The two thrived at TLU, making memories they still cherish. John pursued his love of art. “I ran the ceramics kiln in the old furnace from Old Main,” he recalls. “Joni used to come and hang out with me. I loved the gift the kiln presented of my and other students’ fired work. You could never anticipate what the final result would be.”
Joni has some wonderful college memories too—other than hanging out at the kiln with John. She cherishes her lasting friendships most of all. She still counts her roommate and suitemates from her freshman year among her dearest friends: Ingrid Pearson, Dawn Denne, and Karen Price. “Ingrid and Dawn would play Joni Mitchell records at the same time, which annoyed me to start with,” Joni remembers with a smile. “But slowly her poignant music seeped into my soul.”
John and Joni graduated in 1979 and 1980, respectively, and stepped into the next chapter of their life together, marrying in 1985. “You can trace a straight line from TLU to both our careers,” says John.
John became an assistant in TLU’s art department, working alongside his advisor, Bob Jones, who, a couple of years later, moved on to the University of Texas at Austin. There, he recommended John for a job. John would spend the next thirty-seven years working as a preparator at UT’s Blanton Museum of Art. “It was heaven handling art from around the world, meeting famous artists, and mingling with faculty and staff from the UT Art Department,” he says.
He would also become a celebrated artist himself, whose award-winning work has been exhibited across Texas and around the world. He specializes in steel sculptures, altered books, collages, and assemblage—which involves putting found objects together in new ways to create works of art. “I received an excellent grounding in my life’s work as an artist from my TLU professors—Bob on art history and ceramics and Elmer Peterson on drawing and sculpture,” says John. Anyone who’s ever stepped onto the TLU campus knows Peterson’s work. He created the statue of Martin Luther outside Beck Center and as a result of his influence, metal sculpture is still one of John’s passions.
Joni, meanwhile, had started her college career as an English major—right up until she took Intro to Philosophy and fell in love with the love of wisdom. “Earning my Philosophy degree developed my critical thinking, editing, and organizational skills,” she says. “My Advisor Dr. Mark Gilbertson’s excellent mentoring prepared me for a rewarding thirty-seven-year career as an editor and communications manager for the state.”
During her senior year, she’d interned with TLU alum (and former longtime TLU employee) Stephen Anderson ’77 in a legislator’s office in Austin. “Steve recommended me for my first state job in the Legislative Reference Library. At the end of the session, the library director recommended me for my next job in the Governor’s Office. I served several governors and comptrollers, along with the prosecutors’ association.”
But Joni’s favorite job is her current gig: Serving as John’s PR director and IT department, freeing him to focus on art while she handles the business side of things.
Since the world of art has always been their world, and since they have always felt a strong sense of gratitude toward their alma mater—the place that brought them together and is still so important to them—the Sagers made the decision to leave a legacy: Their extensive art collection, as well as an endowment to support art education, will be their gift to TLU. “TLU is where our love and the seeds of our vocations first took root,” says Joni. “It is so right to leave the artwork to live on at TLU and set up a legacy endowment for art education. We also make annual donations to help visual arts bloom on campus in advance of the endowment.”
John agrees. “Art brings joy and meaning to our lives and should be part of everyone’s life. We need to encourage a look at the wider world and quiet time for contemplation. Death to the cell phone!”
The Art of Joy: The Joni and John Sager Art Collection and Endowment
This fall, on September 11, the Sagers will open an exhibit, The Art of Joy, in TLU’s Schuech Fine Arts Center. It will bring John’s work—as well as works created by numerous other artists, some of whom John met during his career at UT—to the Annetta Kraushaar Art Gallery on campus.
And this is just one part of the Sagers’ full vision for art at TLU.
“I came across a 2014 study at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville,” says Joni. “The study said, ‘Arts experiences boost critical thinking, teaching students to take the time to be more careful and thorough in how they observe the world. Exposure to the arts also affects the values of young people, making them more tolerant and empathetic.’ That sounds like what TLU as a whole strives to accomplish.”
Joni remembers when Religion and Culture Today was a required course for all students at TLU. “I would love to see elevated cross-pollinating exhibits—with artists who illustrate the intersection of faith and learning, and artist talks that speak to art history, culture, and philosophy.” She believes that art exhibits like the one coming this fall should be campus-wide events that are happily anticipated and considered an important part of life.
“Art at TLU should not only encompass the campus,” John adds, “but also the community, the country, and civilization. Art illustrates the need for bettering the world.”
All are invited to come meet the Sagers—and enjoy the art—at The Art of Joy, opening September 11 with a reception from 3 to 5 p.m. The exhibit will remain on display through November 21 and is free and open to the public.
Get more information right here: The Art of Joy: Opening Reception