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Written by Camryn Collier

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Imagine sitting on your childhood couch. You’re sunk into a hollow area that’s worn into the cushions from years of use. In your hands, you have a cup of hot chocolate steaming in your favorite mug. A Tom Petty song plays on the record player nearby; “you belong among the wildflowers, you belong in a boat out at sea.” You hum quietly, but it’s entirely off-key. Still, your foot taps to the beat. Life is good. 

That’s the best way I can describe Chuck Houska’s storytelling. A bit of a rolling stone, a jack of all trades, a chip off the old block, a visionary and creator, a traveler, and a dedicated community member, Chuck has this way of talking that mixes nostalgia with comfort and legend. Somehow, though, you know it’s all completely true because he remembers the dates to the day, even memories decades ago. 

“You can’t take yourself too seriously, can you?” He smiled at me.

Chuck and I met at Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts on just about the coldest day this winter. You might remember that frigid day in late January that never got above the low 20s –it was that day. We sat in those neon green chairs in front of the Associated Artists Gallery. Chuck has a humorous name for the AAWS Gallery in Milton Rhodes, but I won’t say it here. You’ll have to ask him yourself. 

Joining the Associated Artists of Winston-Salem, Inc. (AAWS) during the pandemic, Chuck initially became a member because of past President of AAWS Linda Weaver. They participated in a local Rotary Club together, and upon seeing some of Chuck’s photography, Linda wanted him in. 

“She always told me I needed to price my art higher,” he said with a knowing smile.

Photography is an on-and-off lover in Chuck’s life. He never picked up a camera until after his father passed away when he was 16, he said. His father was a commercial photographer and silkscreen artist who did projects for organizations like United Way in Cleveland, Ohio before they moved to Central Florida, then Winston-Salem.

“We were opposites at the time,” Chuck said about his teenage years. “I didn’t appreciate his photography until after he was gone. I never learned from him.” 

After his passing, Chuck took his Father’s film cameras to a local pawn shop here in Winston. 

“My father had all these old 35mm cameras. They offered me, back in ‘7I, maybe $100 for everything. I looked the shop owner in the eye and said, ‘I’ll use this stuff before I let all of it go for that,’” he said.

Chuck stuck to his word and got involved with the yearbook at West Forsyth High School. He took “silly” pictures then, largely amateur of course. It wasn’t until Chuck went to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) that he found true creativity.  An admitted troublemaker –it was lucky that the Dean at UNCG was also a photographer he noted– Chuck blossomed behind the lens while working for the student paper. 

“It was an advantage to be a photographer and a writer because stories didn’t require two people,” he said. “So when something came to town back then you could just write PRESS on a piece of cardboard and get into any concert or event for free.” 

While on assignment, Chuck captured shots of celebrities and politicians including Ronald Reagan, John McVie from Fleetwood Mac, and members of the Beach Boys. These opportunities largely stemmed from his very own ventures. At the time, Chuck and his roommates somehow convinced the UNCG student government to give them $25,000 to produce concerts. A lot of money then and now, he reminded me.

“Our first concert was Fleetwood Mac right after Rumours came out,” he said with a solemn nod. “We booked them in an old ice skating rink on Wendover Avenue which is now a car dealership. Naturally, Fleetwood Mac sold out, so then we got to do Kansas, the Outlaws, Marshall Tucker, Charlie Daniels, Doc and Merle Watson. We were just rolling. We weren’t even looking for a profit, we just wanted the money for the next show.” 

While on assignment for UNCG, he used a Nikkormat film camera –a predecessor of the modern Nikon. Film cameras were harder to use, he noted, because you couldn’t preview or view the shot immediately like you can now. That made getting an in-focus shot incredibly valuable, he said. 

After graduation, Chuck worked for the weekly Suburbanite newspaper in Winston-Salem and another paper in Kernersville. He wrote about artists including Bob Timberlake (once an AAWS member) and Ward Nichols. 

“Aside from the newspaper, I really didn’t take pictures,” Chuck said. “It was more of my job.” 

Unfortunately for us art lovers, Chuck left newspapers only after a couple of years when a well-paying marketing job popped up. He bounced around through different jobs, and the world lost his photographic talents for about 40 years. Over time, he was a marketer for malls, a commercial property manager, an ice cream shop owner, and ran his own framing business. He’s retired three separate times—recently, too. But, alas, he’s working again, Chuck remarked with humor. 

About five years ago, Chuck picked up a camera again at the Sawtooth Center. It was a bit of a full-circle moment, sitting there right down the stairs from the classrooms.

“One Christmas my daughter, knowing I used to be a photographer, gave me a gift certificate to a class here at Sawtooth.” 

Chuck took two classes under the guidance of Dave Dulaney. 

“After I learned how to use a digital camera, I would go up to Boone and Grandfather Mountain to hike and take photographs. Then, Linda said you ought to look into the Associated Artists of Winston-Salem.” 

Since rediscovering photography, Chuck mostly shoots landscapes and nature. These shots largely coincide with annual trips. In 2023, he visited Utah and national parks including Zion and Red Canyon. More recently, he also visited Banff in Alberta, Canada.

“I like nature photography because I can do two things,” he said. “I can get out and hike and I can take pictures.” 

Before meeting that day, I asked Chuck to bring his camera so he could show me his photographic process. When I looked at some of the pictures he’d exhibited with AAWS, I was amazed. He always captures such perfect shots. Was it pure talent? Intuition? Something else entirely? Originally, we planned to walk around Old Salem, but to keep our fingers and toes warm, we mostly hung around inside Milton Rhodes and Sawtooth. 

While we walked around, Chuck saw angles, frames, and shots I would have passed right by. For example, beside the stairwell that leads up to the Sawtooth Center from Milton Rhodes, the walls are frosted glass square panels. When we got to the top of the stairs, he saw the skyline through the panels and immediately wanted the shot. 

“I’ll use my iPhone a lot for composition and just to take a simple shot,” Chuck said. “Then I’ll come back at a different time when the clouds are different or there is a mist. But with the phone pictures, I’ll have an idea of the composition and study it so I can get the shot that I really like.”

While walking around, it was clear Chuck preferred architecture and lines. Specifically, walls and roofs on buildings that point towards other things. This leads the eye naturally around the shot. He also likes contrast, specialty, unique lighting, and the layered look of long exposures that produce depth. Typically, he shoots at a 30-second shutter speed. 

When I applauded him on his immense portfolio and asked about his specific style, he laughed. 

“I really don’t have a style,” Chuck said. “I don’t think people can look at my work and say, ‘Oh yeah that’s Chuck’s.’ I mainly just hope I’m evolving.” 

His goals and ambitions, too, are admirably and endearingly simple. In recent years he’s been photographing again, he puts his favorite pictures of the year together in a booklet. 

That’s all he wants, he said, is to keep traveling, getting good pictures, and making at least one book a year. 

The day after I met Chuck, while I was sitting with a cup of coffee and beginning to write this, I was thinking about the nature of the art world. Admittedly and perhaps controversially, I’ve always found the art world favors the wrong side of pretentious. It’s hard. Both art administrators and artists often struggle to get their foot in the door. There's simply an immense amount of talent, money, history, emotion, and competition.  

Chuck is the antithesis of pretension, and I found this entirely refreshing. Where I was looking for deep answers about the nature of life, digging into his emotions about his photography, I was met with simple answers. At first, I wondered if I was missing a major point. Did I not prepare my questions well? Was there something I missed and should have grasped? Mostly, I was worried I wouldn’t capture his story well.

In hindsight, he kept repeating the answer the whole time. He just enjoys photography. That’s it. From when he was 16 and learned how to work his Dad’s film cameras, to college when he put on all those concerts, to now, it’s all been about documenting the pure fun and joy of life. It's as simple as that.

“Any artist can be a photographer,” he said. “You already know the rules of composition, lines, and light. A camera is just a different tool.”

In the world we live in, where breaking news and chaos lurk around every corner, we should all be a little more like Chuck –just living day to day, remembering the good times, and finding things we enjoy, grasping them, and making the most of it. 

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If you ever find yourself in need of a good chat with a cup of coffee or maybe a scenic hike, send Chuck an email. He’s exhibiting in the Benton Convention Center Exhibition right now, which you can go by and view! He’s a true gem with some great stories. It was a pleasure! Email us at info@associatedartists.org to get in contact with him.