 |
|
 |
Thomas Beckett (1951–2006)
Studied sculpture and industrial design at Philadelphia College of Art and mechanical engineering at Waterbury State Technical CollegeOn November 20, 2006, Fleisher instructor and dear friend Tom Beckett passed away after a valiant five-year battle with lung cancer.
Tom began working at the Fleisher Art Memorial as a teaching assistant for adult ceramics classes in 1995. In recent years, Tom was also teaching advanced ceramics workshops which he introduced into Fleisher’s curriculum. For the past eleven years, Tom worked as Exhibits Manager at the Please Touch Museum where he was responsible for the design, implementation and maintenance of all museum exhibits. His spirit, craftsmanship and energy are evident in the Bel Arbor Community Garden where Tom was both a gardener and director of many building projects.
Tom Beckett’s legacy at Fleisher can be seen in the ceramics studio which he undertook to design and build after the 2004-05 renovations of the Catharine Street complex. Tom was still planning and orchestrating improvements to this space up until a week before his death. In memory of Tom’s dedication, passion and perseverance to improve Fleisher’s educational environment, the glaze room adjacent to the Marguerite and Gerry Lenfest Ceramics Studio is being named in his honor.
The Please Touch Museum will also be honoring Tom by christening the boat in the Maurice Sendak exhibit the “S.S. Tom Beckett.” This boat was the first project Tom worked on when he began at the museum. Additionally, a plaque bearing Tom’s name will be placed on the Aviation Play Station he designed and built at the Philadelphia International Airport. The last project Tom completed was arranging the installation of his artwork called My Addiction at the Joan Karnell Cancer Center for the Great American Smoke Out event. My Addiction is made almost entirely of Camel® cigarette packages. At the center of the collage, surrounding a vintage ad proclaiming that “more doctors smoked Camels,” are repeated images from Tom’s CAT scan.
Tom Beckett donated his body to the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania.
Friends, family and associates are invited to attend a memorial gathering for Tom on Sunday, January 7, 2007, at 4:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary of the Fleisher Art Memorial. A reception in the ceramics studio and dedication of the Thomas A. Beckett Glaze Room will follow. A small exhibition of Tom’s artwork, including My Addiction, will be displayed at this time.
Contributions in Tom Becketts’s memory may be given to the Joan Karnell Cancer Center at Pennsylvania Hospital, or to the Fleisher Art Memorial capital campaign for ceramics studio improvement.