WELL KNOWN make-up artist Adzil Stuart has gone back to school.
No, he is not brushing up on cosmetology classes.
Been there, done that!
Adzil is taking on theology.
He is burning the midnight oil beating some big hardback books as he chooses a new foundation in his life.
From last September, Adzil has been travelling from his home in Bush Hall, St Michael, to Codrington College in St John three evenings a week. He is reading for his Bachelors of Arts in theology.
This is quite a makeover for this 57-year-old whose name is associated with make-up and skin care.
Nowadays, Adzil has slipped away from the glitz, the lights and the cameras and is spending long, lonely hours buried behind books like The Story of Christianity, The Christian Theology Reader, Godspeech and Church History.
Even though classes are from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., you may find Adzil huddled in the college’s library much earlier, finishing research or preparing for tutorials as assiduously as he did prepping foundation base, cream, eye shadow or lipstick.
He does not glamorise the work that his three current courses, History Of The Church, Spirituality and Worship and Systematic Theology demand of him. So heavy is the reading that he finds himself studying when most of us are sleeping.
Theology has been on Adzil’s “bucket list” for years – actually from a child. He always knew all roads would lead to his interest in this subject.
“It has always fascinated me. I always wanted to do it as a child … I have the urge to do it now,” he said, during a mid-morning interview at his home on Wednesday.
Adzil, dressed in all black, is ready for the interview, and given his craft, he is also ready for the cameras.
On his back porch are two tables, already cluttered with newspapers, his schoolbooks, and a sleek, silver grey Apple laptop.
The serenity of his space is only broken by whimpers from a neighbour’s dogs.
It is a peaceful place for him to study as he looks out to his spacious back garden, which he says is still a work in progress.
Adzil grew up in the church, with a father who was a “deeply spiritual man” and a mother who was a very active member of the congregation.
He can track his involvement in church from the time he was a child.
He attended Sunday school at All Souls Church, was a member of the St Barnabas Anglican Church and was confirmed at the St Michael’s Cathedral.
“September 29 would have been 41 years I was christened there. I remember that Sunday very well. The hurricane was coming – I think it was Gertrude, and people were calling the deanery and asking if the Dean was going to put off the confirmation. But he said, ‘what a wonderful thing it would be if a hurricane came and we would all be in church’… so no, he was not putting it off,” he recalled.
Adzil admits he has always been fascinated with the Church and how life began.
“I was not just satisfied with the fact that you handed down a doctrine or you go to church and people say they are Christians. What is the real thing? Do people really know the full spiritual journey – where they came from, before Christ? Some people never delved into the Old Testament. Some people always deal with their Christianity and spirituality starting from the birth of Christ and coming down.
History
“There are things that happened before, which shaped our position and what we serve now as the rituals for mass that were handed down. I was always interested in that area and on top of that, I was always interested in the history,” he said.
“Doing theology is a different experience to what you do at church or what you will know in the everyday church. If you are not totally grounded in your faith, it can confuse you,” he said as the passion poured as he spoke about his new area of study.
Even though Adzil is studying theology, he isn’t interested in getting into arguments about Christianity, believing that a person’s faith is what they believe in.
“Everyone has their concept of what they believe in. That is why I don’t argue Christianity,” he said.
Adzil is also a firm believer in the philosophy that “we need to know where we come from before we can chart where we are going”.
He decided to take the plunge not knowing what would be in store for him because he simply didn’t want to be crippled by the fear of the unknown.
So, he went head first into it.
He believes he is cut from the same cloth as his father Albert who died at 95.
This man of all seasons, he said, did it all. He was a baker, a shopkeeper, was in the police force for 20 years, lived in many countries and was even involved in World War I.
Being raised by a father who he described as multitalented and multifaceted, who always encouraged him “to go for it”, Adzil said he, too, lived life fearlessly.
“Life is all about change. Barbados is going through a metamorphosis. People are losing jobs and a lot of the jobs being lost will not come back. People get very comfortable with habits. Once they have been in a career for years, they don’t want to shift,” he pointed out.
Adzil has never allowed himself to get too comfortable.
Believing in the philosophy expressed by the Dalai Lama that you can die without even living, he chose to live.
From primary school he was involved in the arts, and eventually took up drama when he attended Combermere School. He also danced with the Barbados Dance Theatre for 14 years and is a long-standing member of the Green Room Theatre.
Adzil also did library science and worked as the librarian at his alma mater.
He also spent years in the airline industry and still does make-up at a funeral home.
With a life that spans varied interests and careers, Adzil said he has enjoyed everything he has done.
“Life is a journey and I make sure I enjoy my life,” he said, smiling confidently and broadly.
For the next four years Adzil will be focused on the highlights and shadows associated with completing a degree.
After that, who knows how glowing this new complexion on life will be for him.
carolmartindale@nationnews.com