One of the Art Department’s alumni, Jean E. Swanson, had a vision to meaningfully connect exemplary veteran k-12 art teachers with our art education undergraduates and other k-12 art colleagues in the state. Through Jean’s sponsorship of projects like the annual Loy-Swanson Summit for Art Educators and the 2020 virtual Tiny Case Studies, seasoned artist-teachers break open their teaching practice, explain their curriculum decisions, model assessment and instructional methods, discuss their teaching philosophies, and share resources, inspiration and advice. When asked why she invests in and supports projects with this focus, Jean said:
“When I look back on my experiences of teaching art, I realize how little I knew about teaching my first year, which was in a newly consolidated school district in Wisconsin. I taught elementary school art in one small town and elementary and junior high art in another. My art education at UW was very good, but a couple years of art education is not enough to make you the best teacher. At that time (in the early 1960s), little was known about various learning disabilities, and Howard Gardner had not developed his Theory of Multiple Intelligences, yet. The experiences that make us better teachers are what we learn from practicing teaching, from our students, from colleagues, from personal relationships, keeping current with developments in our field and from ongoing staff development. I hope the UW-Madison Art Department can enrich these experiences [through workshops and projects like this website], bringing art teachers together to exchange ideas and classroom experiences to help their k-12 art programs bloom and grow.”
Jean E. Swanson has been an active studio artist and art educator for 60+ years. Check out Jean’s CV here to learn more about her academic background, teaching experience, exhibitions, and service work.
Artist Statement
The images above are examples of Jean’s pigmented prints. Using digital media, she uses the photos she takes in nature to create new images, with each final artwork composed of several different photos. Using Adobe software, she digitally collages, paints, and draws on the photos to create the final archival print. The two images on the left are from her Tall Grass Series, which she created by first scanning artwork that she created by hand, then combining the scans with nature photographs. Jean has this to say about her work:
“Born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin, I spent a great deal of time out-of-doors, swimming in its lakes and biking around the city. There were many picnics with family in Madison’s many parks. There were the Girl Scout camping adventures, and visiting relatives in Baraboo with nearby Devil’s Lake for swimming and climbing the bluffs. Nature is the overriding influence on all my work, except for my sculpture and some drawing. Those works were influenced by our sports culture and my experiences as a woman, and they serve as satirical comments about acceptable masculine roles and behaviors in our society.”