President's Message

Linda Fleetwood

TAEA President's Message

Color was not given to us in order that we should imitate nature.
It was given to us so that we can express our emotions."
Henri Matisse

Do you feel the overwhelming urge to color your world? To leave behind something that elevates those you touch to a higher level? To make the world brighter and richer? This is the unique gift of the artist and the art teacher. As an artist we draw the viewer into our world to help them make meaning and relevance out of their days. As an art teacher we draw students into our experience so they gain the artistic language they need to create that same order and relevance. We touch them with creation and help make them creators.

The difficulty today is the general public and those in authority posit that all must be measurable and quantifiable, with little value given to the intangibles. How does one easily measure the creative process that produces something that touches the spirit and the soul? How does one easily measure the saving ability of the educator who reaches a buried heart, giving them hope and making success possible? How does one easily measure the courage it takes to put that pencil to paper, exposing our vulnerabilities and showing the content of our hearts? It's not that it can't be shown, but measuring it would take effort and they want easy and black and white. This reach for the intangible is what the artist and art educator does daily, and these intangibles make life meaningful and beautiful. In many ways the intangibles – friendship, love, character, loyalty, etc. – validate our existence because the true value in living goes way beyond numbers. CS Lewis said, "Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival." We are our culture. We are the climate of our campuses. Therefore, we have value even if we are some of the few who see that.

Texas Art Education Association is dedicated to support the creative endeavor and to give art educators the tools needed to mold the hearts of young people into valuable world citizens and to navigate this inhospitable environment where only numbers count. We want to be a voice for you and the officers are pledged to be servants – ever mindful of the needs of our members and the needs for continual arts education advocacy. We work for you. We are one with you and we are one of you.

TAEA plans to meet the challenges of the future with the following goals: 1. For our Members – communication, broadening our membership base, professional development, leadership building, and maintaining sound organizational structure; 2. For our Students – programs and competitions designed for student growth; and 3. For our Professional Community – advocacy, research and development, and community-based programs. We believe that: 1. Every student deserves a quality visual art education; 2. Every student deserves a visual art education that is supported with sufficient resources, facilities, and certified instructors; 3. Every student deserves to be assessed using authentic assessment tools which measure student growth and performance; 4. Every art educator deserves to receive quality professional development which contributes to continued growth throughout their career; and 5. Every art educator deserves the opportunity to network with a community of other art educators.

We believe in you and the strength of the human spirit. Know that we are here to be a part of that strength and to be a part of what feeds your spirit. Know that for us, decisions aren't based on bubbled-in circles, but on the circle that encompasses all that we are. Art is about living and we are art.

Linda Fleetwood
President