Art One Linocut from one of Mary Johnston’s students
I love serendipity – what are the chances that (a.) a former student of mine (hi, Tyler!) who works at the San Antonio Museum of Art would (b.) start a random conversation with an art teacher from rural New Mexico in (c.) a folk art shop in Port Aransas?
And that (d.) my name would come up? And that (e.) that art teacher would then come to my Studio to meet me? She did, and we had a fantastic conversation!
The teacher is Mary Johnston, and she’s one of those art teachers who knows that art is more than drawing a realistic apple. It’s the heart of human culture, and that’s what she teaches. I received an email from her yesterday with photos of what her students have been up to – and these are students who had never had art before Mary arrived on the scene!
Look at the totems they constructed and the other work they created (below) and then read what Mary has to say about her approach to teaching.
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- Storyteller
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- Pink monochromatic skull
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- Zentangle milagro
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- State fair banner constructed by Mary’s students – each panel represents a different pueblo style
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- Storyteller on drum
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- State fair totems
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- Totem pieces made by students
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- State fair totems
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- Archuleta pieces
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- Harvest pot
Art 1 . Georgia O’Keeffe Unit. Horse skull.Graduated painting technique. Oil paint on canvas .Mesa Vista High School in Ojo Caliente, NM. Teacher Mary Johnston
The ceramic totems were a grades 8- 12 collaboration and represented 12 NM Pueblos and their styles of pottery . The students chose a pueblo and used that specific pueblo style to inspire their ceramic creations. They studied and wrote about their chosen pueblo’s history and its contribution to NM history. The students also researched potters from that pueblo and their contributions to the art world and their pueblo heritage.
As well as being near many pueblos, the school is near Abiquiu, Georgia O’Keeffe Country .Almost all my students know of O’Keeffe and share wonderful (never before heard)stories of their great grandparents and grandparents working for Georgia. Many of my students have interned in Georgia’s home at Ghost Ranch or at Georgia’s Abiquiu home and garden. “
Isn’t this work fantastic? Mary concludes her note by saying, “My time teaching in Northern New Mexico has been a rich, rewarding and fulfilling experience .I will be forever grateful for this opportunity. However , I need to get back to my Texas. I love the Hill Country and the San Antonio region and my goal is to reside in the direction of Boerne and teach in the San Antonio area. My mother, almost 90 years old, is in Austin and needs me much closer than New Mexico.”
what a wonderful story thank you for sharing this….
First time ever art classes for these kids?? Obviously, talented kids nurtured by a talented teacher. I hope somebody in San Antonio snatches her (sorry, New Mexico kids, you will lose an excellent teacher).