SchoolArts - May/June 2008

Left: Students in the ArtReach program at the Juvenile Justice Center discuss their artwork while teacher Katy Presswood celebrates their success. Above: Ruth Jackson congratulates a Hendrick Wisteria Place resident on her recent achievements.

Smiling through
RETIREMENT

Marianne Wood

In Abilene, Texas, retired art educators Ruth Jackson and Carolyn (Katy) Presswood have done anything but slow their pace since leaving the classroom.

Opportunities for community service abound in this small city, and thankfully, Ruth and Katy are available to take up some of the slack. Their activities focus on meeting the needs of people of all ages and limitations. Both have great energy, creativity, and love for people.

Having taught almost every level including art education for elementary teachers at nearby Abilene

Christian University, Ruth specializes now in sharing art activities with the elderly and the mentally challenged. Residents from Disability Resources, Inc., and local nursing centers know her well for her patient, kindly instruction.

Recently widowed, Ruth shares her home with her grandson, Nate,

and keeps up with a host of friends, many of whom are artists. She volunteers through the Retired Senior Volunteer Program and her church, keeps a studio at home and at the Center for Contemporary Arts, and she plays tennis. Ruth is seventy-one years old.

After forty years teaching art
for the Abilene Independent School
District, you’d think Katy would be
ready to take a break. Hardly. She
volunteers with Meals on Wheels
bringing her
energetic and
cheerful per-
sonality along
with warm food
to seniors. Like
Ruth, Katy has

a busy social and family life, caring for husband Lloyd and daughter Sara, who is also an art teacher.

The mother-daughter duo sometimes work together on special art projects. This spring they’ll work side-by-side sharing art lessons for a one-day program at a local private school. Last year they helped assem-

When you begin thinking
about retirement, consider
checking in with a local
museum or gallery.

ble a canned food sculpture project at the local mall. She and a former teaching partner, Carol Mitchell, now deliver classes to incarcerated youth through the Center for Contemporary Arts’ ArtReach program.

Ted Dawson, deputy chief for the Taylor County Juvenile Justice Center’s post-adjudication facility, reports that because of the program, students have found new ways to express their feelings and new skills with which to build confidence. Students in this art program proudly displayed their work for their peers and staff during a recent exhibition and reception.

Teachers like Ruth and Katy are needed in communities across America. Used to multitasking, organizing, and clearly communicating with people having a wide range of personality and intelligence, art teachers have skills which are in great demand.

When you begin thinking about retirement, consider checking in with a local museum or gallery. There’s a good chance they have an outreach program with needy youngsters in after-school programs, seniors in need of weekly art therapy, physically or mentally challenged adults in day care programs, or troubled youth looking for a creative outlet. Small stipends and big smiles will fill your retirement years with great joy.