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Stacy Fuller(February)
I am the Director of Education at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth, Texas. In this role, I work with a talented team of fifteen museum educators to ensure the development, execution, and evaluation of the Amon Carter’s mission-focused educational programs and resources for various audiences. With experience as a museum registrar, in curatorial work, and designing professional development programs for educators, I have a passionate love for works of art and also accessibility—making sure that visitors of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities are able to enter, access, and engage with museum collections.

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« Now What? Recommendations - Part 1 | Main | Looking Backward, Planning Forward »

August 03, 2009

The Summertime Slump: Getting Back Into the Swing of Art Education

It is the beginning of August … and as I think back to the beginning of June when school ended, I had so many plans to be in my art room rearranging, painting, reorganizing, and reworking the curriculum all summer. Even though I did a lot of thinking and reading about art education, I did not go back to my art classroom until last week. I enjoyed spending time with friends and family, gardening, cooking, and I even made some of my own artwork. This is the first summer I can remember where I took time to do therapeutic things for myself, and it has been wonderful. However … hmmm … where has the summer gone and more importantly how do I make up for lost time on art education? Is it necessarily a bad thing to have taken time for myself?

I think it has been refreshing to take time to find my interests, again. There were past summers filled with working and teaching art classes, which I loved, but I have enjoyed my time to find the artist and imaginative creator this summer. Does that make me a selfish educator? Part of me feels like I have been thoughtless about my role as a professional, but don't we all need to recoup and refresh our minds. So, why do I feel like I had a cheap, tawdry affair on my long time love, art education?

So … now it is the end of July/beginning of August 2009, and I am wondering where the summertime went and how much I truly want to accomplish in these few short weeks before the hustle and bustle of students are in the art room … Not to mention professional development courses I will be taking and presenting. Panic begins to settle in my body – my first love, art education has found out about my new found love of summer fun. Can I get all of my tasks accomplished? Can I still enjoy being an artist once I get back into my school mode? Stay tuned…

In this month’s blog, I am going to explore the ideas of art educator, artist, and how both are important as many of us (art educators) begin thinking about and gearing up for another art-filled school year with our students. I look forward to hearing from many of you as you respond with your own ideas and thoughts to my posts.

-Nikki F. Kalcevic

Posted at 08:56 AM |

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