About
Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Meier
I am very pleased to share my love of art with the young artists who reside at UC Elementary. We spend class time exploring ideas and learning from each other. I am so lucky to work in a school distict that values and supports the arts. I am lucky to work with Ms. Fontes and Ms. Blair, fellow art teachers who share a love of teaching art. Ms. Fontes and I are collaborating on a number of projects this year. Here we are pictured together in Philadelphia while there for the Mural Arts training.
I was trained as an art specialist at Florida State University School of Visual Arts and Dance where I earned a M.S. in art education in 2002. My mentors, leaders and visionaries in the field of art education, Sally McRorie, and Tom Anderson, helped to spark a passion in me for teaching art in such a way that emphasizes meaning. I strive to design art instruction that students find engaging, meaningful, and relevant to their lives. By paying attention to the meaning that a work of art holds for a student, either a work that they have made, or one that we are studying, I am able to help them recognize the things in life that they value most. My students show me what they value by communicating through their art. Elementary age students value family, pets, playing outside, exploring nature, planning for trips and celebrations, relationships with friends and teachers, accomplishing goals, being successful learners, and having fun. Not only do we find meaning in work of art that we make in the elementary art studio, we look for the meaning that others have placed in art work. Art tells a story about people. In the art studio we are learning what humanity values across cultures and periods in history. Art has a story to tell about human life. UC art students are hearing the stories of others and telling their own.
Even as I teach art, I continue to explore a personal sense of meaning in my own work as an artist. I most frequently use digital media, printmaking, and painting. I also have experience as a potter. In the past several months I have been working to complete a watercolor series based on a painting called "Spirit Mountain" that investigates themes related to the changing landscape, travel, and place. The second painting in the series as on display at the Erie Art Museum Annex in Sept, 2005. The changing landscape has given shape to much of my life experience as I have lived in 8 states: CO, KS, AZ, CA, FL, CT, and PA. My husband and I plan to set down some roots in PA staying here for years to come but we will still honor our love of the changing landscape by taking break for travel and photography. Below is a photograph that we took on Lake Erie in August 2005.
With my Union City colleague, Kris Fontes, I am co-representative to the Pennsylvania Art Education Associaton (PAEA) Board for Northwest Pennsylvania. I also chair the committee that has redesigned the PAEA web site. In 2006, PAEA humbled me with the Outstanding Elementary Art Educator award for the state of Pennsylvania. The following year, Kris and were honored as the 2007 Outstanding Regional Representatives to the PAEA board.
In addition to investing my time teaching and making art I divide my attention among a number of interests including Web Design using CSS, graphic design and digital imaging, holistic nutrition and cooking with whole foods, volunteering at the Whole Foods Co-op, growing and propogating varieties of Coleus plants, Pilates, and biking on Presque Isle.
About Union City Area School District
Union City, estimated population 3,463, is located about 20 miles Southwest of Erie, PA. The school district is comprised of an elemenrary school and a middle and high school. Arts Education is an important part of the curriculum at all three levels. Both the art and music education experiences in Union City are celebrated. Would you like to see a hybrid map and satellite picture of the area?
About the Erie County Region
Erie County has an active local arts scene. Private galleries, and the wonderful Erie Art Museum and Art Museum Annex provide many exhibition venues for both locally and internationally recognized artists. The Arts Council of Erie also provides support for many art endeavors including an artist in residency program for schools. Union City elementary and middle schools hope to participate in such a residency program in the near future. Several Universities in the tri-state area of PA, OH, NY also contribute to the art and cultural life of the region. Check goerie.com for up to date arts and entertainment news.
The most unique and precious natural asset belonging to the Erie region is Presque Isle State Park.
