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William CHAMBERS

William Chambers

After graduating from Sac High, I attended Sacramento Junior College and California College of Arts & Crafts in Oakland to study to become a graphic artist. In 1964, I was drafted and stationed at Fort Riley Kansas assigned to 5th Army Special Services, running a main post Arts & Craft shop under a civilian. During that time, I took a city bus in the morning from main post to Manhatten, Kansas to attend a life drawing class from Kansas State University. After class, I returned to my assigned post by noon.
In 1965, I was sent to Vietnam with the 26th Inf., on a very unpleasant troopship cruise for 22 days, arriving in Southeast Asia. Many of us were not really wanting to get involved in this war. We were scared and many of us carried an extra weapon. Once in the country, I was reassigned back to Special Services with 1st Division Hq. DiAn. I was still in the military when I received a letter that I had been accepted in the graduate art program at U.C. Davis, but unfortunately I was in a combat zone. Luckily, I received an early out and was able to attend the university in the spring of 1966, receiving my MA in 1968.
In 1968, I started my first teaching job with Encina High School in the San Juan School District. I taught there for fifteen years and then left to teach in the Los Rios Community College District for six years as a part-time instructor. While there, I came in contact with an old Sac High classmate, Gary Pruner at American River College. I worked for Gary as his TA while I continued to teach my two classes in graphic design and color theory. Due to increases in college tuition, part-time instructors were cut in 1993.
I soon found employment with Travis Unified School District teaching at Golden West Middle School. It was difficult teaching that age. In 1997, I accepted a full-time teaching position for C.Y.A. (California Youth Authority) Stockton. I taught an art program for incarcerated youth. I retired from the program after six years in 2003.
In all the years that I was teaching, I remained a working artist, exhibiting with art dealers in San Francisco and West Los Angeles. In Sacramento, the Crocker Art Museum has a painting of mine in their permanent collection, and U.C. Davis Medical Center has thirty-two of my watercolors in their medical buildings. Presently, I'm exhibiting work with Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento.
On a personal note, my wife passed away five years ago. She Is greatly missed by me and my family. I have one son, Darin, who just completed his 8th year as a family physician specializing in wound care for diabetic patients. His wife is an optometrist. They have two children that are a lot of fun, and they look forward to when grandpa shows up. What a lot of energy! I enjoy my workouts with a senior gym group twice a week, but I'm tired of doing down dog in Yoga, so stay healthy!

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