Back to School

Hello! It's been some time since my last post, so much has happened! My intent was to post more frequently, unfortunately, I have not been able to keep up, odd for someone who has a lot to say.  Lately, my life has taken on a new direction, a new sense of purpose, a new focus especially now my children have nearly all grown up. My lobster illustrations will continue, my dedication to my customers, retail and wholesale will continue, my passion for the State of Maine, the Lobster Industry and communities along the coast will always be within my reach.  A new chapter is in its infancy, the words are becoming clearer every passing day.

Last Summer, I enrolled in the Maine College of Art's Master in Arts Teaching Program, a rigorous yet rewarding ten-month marathon to learn how to share my artistic journey, experience, and energy with the young minds of tomorrow.  The days are long, the workload intense yet gratifying preparing you for 'the day in the life' of a school art teacher.  Huddled closely alongside eight equally minded teacher candidates, we have grown in so many ways, unimaginable in such a short period of time. 

From the classroom to the museum, workshops to field trips, term papers to Petcha Kutcha's, we have all respected the mountain. Now, under the watchful eyes of mentor teachers, we are putting our practice to the test leading K-6th grades in their art rooms. Personally, I've led close to 500 students per week in rural Poland, Maine, all of them unique and welcoming. In the coming weeks, I'll travel to Portland Arts & Technical High School for a six-week internship with juniors and seniors from all over southern Maine via their commercial art department, I'm really looking forward to this visit! 

Soon, in May, I will graduate and be on the search for an art teacher position in Southern Maine.  Additionally, I will continue in my artistic ways including new lobster designs and attending all my favorite art shows during Maine's gorgeous summer months.  Becoming an art teacher will allow me a perfect balance of life's work, as well as an avenue to deliver a meaningful contribution to our youth and their communities.  Art has always been a positive experience and release for me, a way to explore the freedom of creativity, the act of making something from nothing. We all have this gift, discovering it from within can be the puzzle, one I hope to help solve for students who feel the arts are out of their reach.  For those who love the arts, I will share their passion and push their ideas, our art room will sing with active making.

Stay tuned for more from the art room, and as always THANK YOU for your continued support throughout the years, you have helped me considerably to discover where my path has been leading me all along!  

Andrew

"Me" by Everett, 5th Grade Poland Elementary Regional School