Written by Michelle Steinberg in Sculpture 2
I spoke with Nannette Horan, an art teacher at Rachel Carson Elementary School in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
NH: It’s funny that you’re interviewing me now. I had to write a career report in 8th grade and I interviewed an art teacher. That actually made me NOT want to be an art teacher.
MS: Really? And why is that?
NH: Because they didn’t make enough money! I decided to be a conservationist instead… I wanted to save animals.
MS: Oh that is pretty funny.. So tell me, where did you go to school?
NH: I went to undergrad at Buffalo State College in NY. Then I went to school in California and Maryland to keep up with my teaching credentials.
MS: So did you still want to be a conservationist at that point? What did you study there?
NH: No, the conservationist thing was short lived. My major was art education and my minor was art therapy. I had a concentration in ceramics. Oh but before that I took a gap year in between high school and college. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. But then a friend convinced me to check out buffalo state with them. And I just signed up to go.
MS: Just signed up?
NH: Yeah, we didn’t have to go through that whole admissions process with a counselor and whatnot that you guys have to go through now. But anyway, in my gap year I took couple of classes at community college and I was also a waitress. I went to Buffalo State because of their art therapy department. I thought art therapist made more money and I liked the idea of working with smaller groups of people.
MS: What would you say your experience was like overall?
NH: I had an excellent overall experience! The art ed. dept was more of a community… The fine arts, graphic design, and art ed majors were all separate. I was very involved in the student chapter of New York State Art Education Association. This really helped because I got to meet other professionals.
MS: So it was a kind of networking opportunity?
NH: Yeah it was good for talking to people.
MS: So what did you get out of school that continues to help you today?
NH: Well there was this one class… it was more of a seminar really, called Redesign. It was run by an art ed professor. Basically you had to go into a neighboring school and would propose a redesign idea. Like a mural or sculpture. And you’d actually work with kids the kids that went there. I really learned a lot of real-world things. We had to work on cost analysis, set up a schedule, decide level of involvement for kids, make a budget, and so on. But the Professor was amazing! You know how sometimes you have a professor that just GETS you? Well he GOT me. He said “Nannette, stop being lazy” and he just kinda looked into my soul and pushed me.
MS: Wow. That sounds like an awesome experience.
NH: Oh it was! You know, there’s actually a similar program being offered at MICA [Maryland Institute College of Art] right now. And actually, you want to be an art teacher, right? MICA has a bunch of programs that you might want to take a look at.
MS: That sounds really cool, I’ll have to look into it. And yeah I’m actually struggling now to figure out what the next step grad school-wise should be for me. There are too many options and it’s kind of confusing.
NH: Well MICA actually has a lot of programs that you might be interested in. It might be a good idea to start looking there. Really what you need to do is just go for certification!! You never know about the job market. Just keep credentials current. The good thing about teaching is it’s nice to have a regular job. I’ve also taught at art camps, and places for emotionally disturbed kids… more I think you’re more respected when you go for jobs when you have a degree.
MS: Awesome, thanks! By the way, if you could be a student again, what would you do differently?
NH: I don’t know if would have changed the art education or art therapy work…. I probably would have taken advantage of more clubs and student activities.. Also I stuck with same boyfriend since high school. And I would have wanted to be more social.
MS: So at this point it sounds like you still wanted to do art therapy. What made you decide to be a teacher instead? Did you have an ‘Aha!’ moment?
NH: I was spending time with kids early on at Buffalo State. They put you in a class room right away. Then there was also student teaching. And I also volunteered in classrooms immediately. I love kids, I love art. But there was this lack of confidence for me about going out and just being an artist on my own. I love what I do now, but I really didn’t get to do my own personal work though at first. Eventually I established a routine and now I’m able to make my own art. I love kids and can’t imagine not working with them. I’ve taught pretty much every grade, but I really like elementary school kids the best. They’re unencumbered and not afraid to try things. They feed my own creativity.
MS: What do you find most challenging about being a teacher?
NH: There are times when I’m a waitress… It’s set up and clean up and set up and clean up. Another challenge for me is organization. I’ve been teaching 26 years though so that part has gotten better over time.
MS: Can you give any advice to someone who wants to be an art teacher?
NH: Try it out first, don’t feel bad if it’s not for you, that’s the only way you’re gonna know… Just jump in and get your feet wet. But you would have to be absolutely insane to teach middle school. You have to deal with all the social issues all the time. Middle school kids are just constantly hormonal. I taught middle school for 8 years but then Maddy and Camille [her kids] were getting to be that age. You don’t want to have obnoxious people both at home and at school. It’s just too much. You also have to figure out what type of art education you’re gonna teach… You could do discipline based art education, dealing with periods of art and history, and then go through analysis, critique, and then have the kids create actual art work. Now it’s more about 21st century knowledge, which is teaching for artistic behavior and getting an understanding of the hows and whys of what we do… What artists DO… One thing to keep in mind about kids… It’s important to not think that they’re gonna be artists in 15 years. They’re still artists NOW, they’re just younger. I also really want to have my own art studio, so that I can be mentor for artists and give them space to work.
MS: So it’s kind of finding a balance between the disciplined stuff and the 21st century thinking?
NH: Exactly. You don’t want to tell them what to do all the time. Last week my Kindergarteners were using watercolors and learning about Monet. I gave them only 3 colors and they went to work and figured it out. It’s better than a lesson plan with ‘yellow and red makes orange’ .
MS: Oh definitely.
NH: Another thing I’ve been working on with them is teaching them that it’s OKAY to make a mistake. In fact sometimes it’s even better to make a mistake because it might turn into a new idea!
MS: Gotchya. So back to you, what media do you personally prefer to work with as an artist?
NH: As an art education major, you get a taste of everything. I feel most comfortable with ceramics, but I think it doesn’t matter what you’re working in, it matters what you’re communicating and what you communicate best in. I consider myself a multimedia artist. Art is about ideas. If you’re able to get ideas out, it doesn’t matter what it’s made of. My students… I give them as much variation of media as possible. They’re artists now! They’re on a continuum…you never stop being an artist… you just get better as you go. So you get an A on your report card? Doesn’t mean you’re done being an artist!
MS: This is great, thank you so much! If my professor or people in my class wanted to follow up with you, is that okay?
NH: Yes, they can email me. My email is Nannette_horan@yahoo.com.