Art teachers show off their work

By Jennifer L. Johnson - news@onlineathens.com
Published Saturday, January 16, 2010

WATKINSVILLE - Hannah Chapman can't remember the last time she saw one of her mother's pieces on an art gallery wall.

The 18-year-old college freshman made the trip down from Virginia to see an exhibit of works by area art teachers in the Myers Gallery at Athens Academy.

Twenty-four teachers from public and private schools in Clarke and Oconee counties are participating in the Art Teachers Invitational, conceived after Athens Academy art teacher Lawrence Stueck saw an exhibit at the University of Georgia of Clarke County students and thought it was time for a show of their teachers' work.

The exhibition features teachers from 20 schools, including Clarke Central High School, Oconee County High School, Athens Montessori School and Athens Academy. Steuck subtitled the exhibit "February 24, 1875" - the day before Oconee County became separate from Clarke County - to emphasize the participation of schools from both sides of the county line.

"We're kind of putting these counties back together in a way," Stueck said. "Teachers from both counties are coming together and showing art they've made in the last year, or maybe years ago, back before they got so busy teaching."

Chapman's mother was one of those teachers whose job made it hard to produce work outside of the classroom.

"I really wish my mom had more time to do this," Chapman said at an artists' reception Thursday. "Since she's had kids and gotten real busy with teaching school, it's been hard for her."

Frances Chapman taught kindergarten through eighth grade at St. Joseph Catholic School for 25 years and was excited about the opportunity to have her own work on display.

"It feels good to be creating again, and I think it's good for my students to see that," Chapman said. "It sets a good example for my kids - especially the older ones - to see me making and having my art outside the classroom."

Michael Spronck, 85, began painting 10 years ago after retiring from a career in management consulting, and visited the exhibition to see what Athens art teachers were creating in their own time.

"I've always been a strong supporter of art, especially in the schools," Spronck said. "I like to attend every opening I can, and I think it's also important to support art of all types."

Spronck especially liked "Neanderthal Man" by Athens Academy art teacher Mary Presnell, who used mosaic-like scraps of paper in layers to give the face of a primitive man a kind of 3-D effect.

"Neanderthal Man" also was a favorite of University of Georgia art student Camille Hayes, a 2007 Athens Academy graduate who came back to see her former teachers' work.

"I feel like you can really tell who was an elementary, middle and high school teacher through their art, and that just means they're well-suited to what they're teaching," Hayes said. "I'm really glad that I came because people here had different types of work to see."

Stueck was pleased with how the show turned out.

"It's a nice range of work from a lot of talented people," he said. "As a teacher, we're so used to dragging our kids' work around, it's a nice change of pace to have ours exhibited."

In fact, one teacher was so used to showing her students' work that she initially brought their work instead of her own, he said.

The exhibit gives teachers an opportunity to show students that there are other career paths out there for art teachers, though many of the artists really enjoy their jobs.

"One of the kids just asked me today why I wanted to be a teacher," said Dan Smith of Gaines Elementary School. "You get to do art every day."

Seeing their work exhibited is a rare occurrence for some teachers.

"I think the last time I worked a show was maybe eight years ago," said Jeff Barnett, an art teacher at Clarke Central High School.

Barnett is a single father and has been working as a teacher for 14 years, and hasn't had much of an opportunity to do charcoal sketches like the one he contributed to the exhibit.

"I like to say that there's an artist that lies inside of all of us, and you just need someone to dig it out of you," he said. "That's why I love teaching, so I get to inspire my students and let them have experiences like this one."

The Myers Gallery at Athens Academy is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and the exhibition will remain open through Feb. 12. Call (706) 549-9225 for more information.
Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Saturday, January 16, 2010