In addition to welcoming new students for the year, ceramics and architecture teacher Mel Gaskins also welcomed University of Cincinnati student teacher Kelly Bartholomew for the semester.
Bartholomew is teaching ceramics students about different techniques for pottery as well as learning different techniques for teaching. She is studying art history and minoring in fine arts at the University of Cincinnati and said she is enjoying the atmosphere at McNick. “It’s a very welcoming environment,” she said.
As an art education major at UC, Bartholomew is required to be a student teacher for the first quarter of the year. While deciding which school to go to, she knew she wanted to focus mainly on ceramics, which is why she knew McNick would be the perfect fit for her. She noticed right away that the students here were surprisingly advanced for high school students and “was not used to seeing students who really seem to know what they are doing.”
Bartholomew said she has a great passion for art itself and loves doing ceramics. She said that “no matter how many things I have on my resume, I want to be known as an artist.” While she is here, she plans to continue to develop her skills as a teacher and strive for her goal of always being known as an artist. Bartholomew will be at McNick until Oct. 7.
Gaskins was most interested in Bartholomew as a student teacher because she “loved that [she] was so focused on ceramics.”
The McNicholas Milestone 