Finding Fascination: My Journey to (and through) the Arts

As 2024 rolled into 2025, I had already decided to retire from a 28-year career in K-12 education. The question that loomed was, “What will I be doing when 2025 rolls into 2026?” Writing a blog for an arts organization wasn’t on my Bingo card.

Becoming an educator was a simple decision. I enjoyed both learning and teaching others from an early age. My high school teachers and college professors all encouraged me to go into education. It seemed like the only real choice. So, figuring out what to do next was a daunting task.

I found the solution in fascinations — those experiences that unexpectedly draw you in to reveal meaning without choice. My fascination has always been the arts. My eyes always divert to Art Deco buildings in any city I visit. I thought Jackson Pollock was complete bollocks until I found myself inches away from one of his paintings inside an art museum. I love watching musicians as much as I enjoy listening to them — the way they transform arm, hand and finger movements into complicated arrangements of musical notes is fascinating.

When I was a twenty-something, I begrudgingly attended my first-ever Broadway Across America performance. I told my spouse before the performance that I hoped the play lived up to its name and proved to be “Less Miserable” than I expected. However, the first note of the Overture kicked off a mental and physical transformation within me that would continue through the final refrain. While I have yet to recapture the euphoria of that initial experience, I thoroughly enjoyed all five performances I have now seen of “Les Misérables.” I find it to be a true fascination.

We only experience a fraction of the arts on our own. The experiences of those before and after us make up the larger part. By its nature, art is eternal. Cincinnati Art Museum’s Ancient Mediterranean collection, the rich sounds of Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra at Music Hall, the detailed landscapes of the Duncanson murals at the Taft Museum of Art — they all demonstrate that art has no expiration date. Those works were created before us and will find audiences long after we are gone. They also display the first-class opportunities Cincy provides to experience the arts.

The Cincinnati region is full of options for arts of all kinds. Just search the word “museum” or “theater” (“theatre,” if you’re feeling cheeky) in a map-based app to find unique experiences that other cities can’t offer. If you prefer to take a more active, creative role, you’ll find plenty of workshops and classes for the young, old and my middle-aged peers. It would be difficult to NOT find something that suits your interests — something that fascinates!

Upon retirement from a career in education, I both rediscovered the arts and found a new home there. I am living proof that one does not need to be an Artist to be part of what makes art special. Go to a performance. Take up photography. Fundraise for an organization that makes your community stronger. If nothing else, write an arts-inspired blog post (anyone can do that). Art is an equalizer. It is for everyone and for all time.

I now work for an organization that fuels arts organizations, which in turn fuel our community. This path couldn’t make more sense. We are on a crusade to spread the word about all that Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky has to offer. So, how about it: Will you join us?

Jody Johnson is office manager at ArtsWave. Find your own fascination in Cincy’s arts by downloading the ArtsWave App, the region’s most comprehensive arts and entertainment calendar.