The first of these influences is my high school Photography and Art History teacher, Mrs. G. She had a way, as all good educators do, of being rigid and expecting a lot out of her students, while at the same time being the kindest and most approachable of all my teachers. If I was having a bad day and needed a quiet place to sit, her room was where I'd go. If I was struggling with anything, for school or anything else, she'd listen. She encouraged me creatively, and pushed me when I needed it. I owe to her my interest in Art History. I still have my Gardner's book from her class, where we were encouraged to take notes in the blank spaces next to the pictures, and flipping through that book always brings me back to her classroom. I knew at that point that I wanted to teach. What I wanted to teach wasn't so clear, but I knew I wanted to make children feel validated, complete, and worthwhile the way she had done for me.
The second influence who had a major impact on my education and my desire to teach was my undergraduate professor and mentor, Professor Sheramy Bundrick. I could write on and on about how amazing she is. I was actually just texting with a friend this morning who is now TAing at her graduate program, reminiscing about how wonderful Professor Bundrick was. We agreed that if any class we teach is half as good as a Bundrick class, we're doing good. She re-ignited my love of learning, and my love of Art History at a time when I wasn't sure I knew what I wanted to do. I had dabbled in several majors, from Early Childhood Education to Accounting, and was sort of lost. I took her Art History survey course for my art credit and realized it was just dumb that I had ever walked away from Art History in the first place. I changed my major, took as many classes as I could with her, and was continually inspired by her passion and dedication. Very similar to Mrs. G, she was no nonsense. She expected your best, and no less, but if you gave her that she was a treasure trove of advice, admiration, encouragement, and support. There is so much I could say about what an amazing educator she is, I just hope one day I can pass on the effect she had on me to others.
The last educator who really influenced me is my "boss" at the Dali Museum, the Director of Education, Peter Tush. I met Peter for the first time, actually, when I was in high school. He was a friend of Mrs. G's and whenever she took us to the Dali Museum for field trips, he cleared out space in his busy schedule to do our tour personally. It was not until I did my internship that I realized how many other things he has going on, and what a big deal it was that he took time out of his day for us. Thanks, Peter. Anyway, I was reintroduced to him in an undergraduate survey he was teaching about Dali at USF St. Petersburg (which is literally 3 blocks from the museum, and the two institutions have a great working relationship). The course was wonderful, Peter is a master storyteller. Dali is a pretty interesting guy, so any story you tell about him is bound to have entertainment value, but Peter gave everything that extra little something. He also knows so much about art of the late 19th and 20th centuries, his brain is like a jewelry box & the bits of information are the jewels. So, he taught this class, and it was only open to 10 students because it was also being taught to the museum's docent class for that year. After the course, the students were eligible to complete a few additional training sessions and become docents. I was the only one who did so. After the course, I applied for an internship with the Education Department at the museum, which I was awarded. I spent the four months of my internship at the museum half of the week, and the two years after that volunteering at least once a week giving a school tour, doing an outreach program, whatever was needed. Peter was the inspiration behind all of this. He made me want to work in a museum. His job was constantly engaging his mind in the best of ways, there were opportunities to impact the community on multiple levels, and he thoroughly enjoyed what he was doing. Seeing that Museum Education was what brought together my love of learning about art and my desire to share that with others without being set in a conventional classroom, tied everything together for me.
I am thankful to all three of them for the impact they've had on my life, but especially Professor Bundrick and Peter, because I wouldn't have gotten into grad school here at SAIC had it not been for their amazing letters of recommendation.
As far as my recommended texts are concerned;
1. "You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum"
by Jacqueline
Preiss Weitzman (Author) and
Secret Life of Salvador Dalí by Salvador Dali
This is Dali's autobiography. It is partly fictionalized and completely out there. It's really entertaining.
For those who don't know, Van Gogh and his brother Theo were in constant communication throughout his life. Theo supported Vincent, and was also a bit of a pack rat, so he kept basically every letter Vincent ever sent him. All of the letters have been published and are available free online, translated into English. You can search by date, by artistic period, by where he was living, by whom he was writing to (it's not just Theo). You can also search by paintings he mentions, artists he mentions, writers he mentions, and the list goes on. There are many letters that have sketches that are just beautiful. It's a really neat webpage. Check it out!
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