SAMFA-Gram's
volunteer profile this issue is of Tracey Ferguson, one of our board members
and an invaluable volunteer in the area of art education. Tracey is a native
San Angeloan who came home from Stephens College with a degree in Elementary
Education. She has taught every grade from first through eighth during her
career, and holds additional certifications in gifted and talented programs
and art education. Her master's degree is in educational counseling, so
you might expect that her job is there too. But Tracey says that after a
brief stint as a school counselor, she missed the kids so much that she
has gone back to the classroom. She currently teaches 5th grade at Santa
Rita Elementary.
Her most recent big project with her Santa Rita students was the big Trash to Treasure art exhibit at the Coop Gallery, which she and her students did in conjunction with Ft. Concho Elementary and showed during the October 20 Eco Fair and Family Day. Tracey says the fun part of the process for her was that she gave her students no guidelines except to use trash and create something. She was astounded by the variety of different ideas that students developed and believes that part of the reason for the variety was her lack of instruction or limitation. "I like to watch the light bulb come on," she says. "When I was in counseling, I missed those 'Aha!' moments that teachers get to experience with their students."
Tracey has taught in Sonora, Big Lake, Wall, and San Angelo,
and has been volunteering at the Museum since it was located at Ft. Concho.
For three years she ran SAMFA's Summer for Kids program and still helps
there annually. She thinks that it's terrific that we now have a full-time
educator on staff to expand kids' programs. She has served on the SAMFA
board for 
three
years and currently chairs the education committee.
Her family includes her son Will (a junior in college this
year), two sisters, and her parents. The quality and expansion of Museum
art education programs has been possible mainly because of dedicated volunteers
like Tracey. We value and appreciate you, Tracey!
The
West Texas TriangleIn 2006, a consortium of five art museums in West Texas collaborated to define the West Texas Triangle for the purpose of promoting their unique collections to a wider audience. Each of the museums possesses wonderful collections that encompass a vast range of human history and artistic activity, and all are located in distinct landmark buildings. Continuously changing exhibitions focus on a broad overview of all cultures and time periods. All five of the museums are in close proximity to a rich array of cultural, shopping, and dining attractions in their respective towns. All five of the museums in the West Texas Triangle are accredited, a distinction that fewer than five percent of all museums can claim. Texas Monthly has recently carried full-page ads inviting readers to visit the West Texas Triangle, the Space for Art.
Plan a couple of day trips this holiday season, and visit
the Grace Museum in Abilene, the Old Jail Art Center in Albany, the Museum
of the Southwest in Odessa, and the Ellen Noël Art Center of the Permian
Basin in Odessa. That, of course, is after your trip to SAMFA to enjoy our
latest exhibits.
The San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts is saddened over the passing of San Antonio
antiques dealer Fred Pottinger, who has been a generous donor to the Museum.
Longtime friends of Mr. Pottinger, Hamp and Bonnie Beesley encouraged him
to consider the Museum as a home for part of his important collection of
Mexican/Spanish Colonial artifacts and in early winter of 2005 he offered
as a gift over 100 remarkable
antique artifacts. The gift includes a wide range of paintings on canvas
and tin, religious statues, crosses, crucifixes and numerous other art and
decorative art pieces. This gift filled a void in the Museum's collection
since we previously had very few artworks of Hispanic origin.
San Angelo Museum
of Fine Arts
One Love Street
San Angelo, Texas 76903
Fax: (325) 658 - 6800
Phone: (325) 653 -
3333
e-mail:
museum@samfa.org