Art teacher Ellen Orseck drinks from a square mug.
"I like to try and get students to think in a new way - to problem solve and do things outside of their comfort zone. To be creative and express themselves in a way that is personal and important to them," she said.
Expression, primarily through art, is a passion for Orseck. As an educator and artist, her career has taken her and her work around the globe. Her love of the medium took her to Venice last summer, from late June to late August, as part of a graduate program offered through New York University. She will spend the next two summers in New York City toward a master's degree in painting.
Her months in Italy forever changed her - from blisters to back aches. "We visited many museums and churches, and crawled all over the city. My feet were blistered! I had blisters in places I didn't even know I had!"
While there, Orseck met filmmakers, artists, writers, architects and students, from all over the world. She attended classes, worked in the studio and spent up to 24 hours a day living and breathing art, sometimes staying up all night to complete a project. "Being totally removed from everything familiar to me was liberating. For me, there was no newspaper, radio, and limited e-mail and phone. I was totally focused on my work," she said.
With a studio art degree from Frostburg University in western Maryland, a year at the Maryland Institute of Art, and a master's degree in museum studies from George Washington University, Orseck has spent her life immersed in some form of art or art education. Before coming to St. Agnes, she was the assistant curator of education at the Dallas Museum of Art, a senior editor at Southwest Art Magazine, and was a curator and director of public programs at Holocaust Museum Houston. She also was curator of the art museum at Strake Jesuit College Preparatory.
It wasn't until 2000 that she went back to the Glassell School, affiliated with the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, and restarted her painting education and career. Orseck specializes in multimedia work with acrylics, oils and watercolors. This year, she was also had exhibitions at the O'Kane Gallery at the University of Houston Downtown and Bering and James Gallery. More of her work can be seen at www.ellenorseck.com.
Coming to St. Agnes was like coming home, Orseck said. "This place has nurtured me as an artist and educator, and broadened my knowledge of technology. I don't know of another environment that is so encouraging about learning inside and outside the classroom," she said. "Our teachers are so encouraging and enthusiastic. I hope to be here as long as I am productive and useful."
