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[Music Plays]
>> Andrea Blaser: Hi, my name is Andrea Blaser,
and I teach art at Mahomet Seymour High School
in Mohamet, Illinois, and I've been teaching for six years.
Right now in this semester, I'm teaching an Intro Art class,
in which we are doing some color mixing exercises.
They are doing a monochromatic self-portrait to learn
value and shape.
And in my Drawing and Painting 1 class, we are currently
studying the Italian Renaissance as our art history component.
And as our project component, they are working on a series of
mini-canvasses, and they are working on incorporating a theme
into their work with multiple images being a part of that
body of work.
And then my Metals class, they are starting their
final project of the semester, in which they have to do a
layered metal piece, either a pendant, a ring, or earrings,
and they are to solder or rivet to create their designs.
I am impressed everyday with the skill that I see
at this age level, and it's just exciting, I think, to see the
creativity and the imagination and the skill that
some of these kids possess, even before they get to me.
But the fact that I can sort of help that along, and ideally,
send them into a college program well prepared,
I think that's my favorite thing.
I graduated EIU with my undergrad degree in 2008
and just finished up my masters this past summer.
What I found to be the strength of this
masters program at EIU was the variety that this program
offers, in terms of studio course work, curricular
course work, and art history.
I felt that it was a great balance and not too focused on
any one thing, and I gained a lot of skills and knowledge
base in new and different areas as a result of that.
I would tell somebody to absolutely go back and get their
masters because it keeps you current, and I think there is
value in being a student, as well as a teacher.
I think that if you are consistently learning
and taking new classes, you are growing, and you will
do a better job at your job as a result of that.