About the Artist
Ms Rothman has been an artist and a teacher all her life. She holds a Certificate in Botanic Illusration from the Corcoran College of Art and Design, an MS in Art Education from Univ of Maryland, a BS in Art from American University, and K-12 Md State Teaching Certification in Art. Lois achieved the prestigious Teaching Certification in Art from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards and has been awarded four US Govt Fulbright Scholarships for study/travel/teaching in Japan, Mexico, India and China. She has more than forty years experience in assisting young people to express themselves in art, including in the Montgomery County Md Public Schools and The Potomac School of Mc Lean VA. Ms Rothman is the consummate life long learner, completing Fellowships at the Reginald F Lewis African American Museum in Baltimore Md; The Smithsonian Institution, The National Gallery of Art and Phillips Collection, Wash DC. She has been awarded Teacher of the Year and Retired Teacher of the Year from the Maryland Art Education Association.
Ms Rothman remains dedicated to allowing each student to discover his / her own path to achieving the magic and joy we call "finding your inner artist." She believes that integration of the arts with cross cultural and cross curricular study is the most efficient and lasting and yes, fun, method of incorporating and internalizing important knowledge in our increasingly fast paced world. She teaches with the Japanese theme of "Give me a fish and I eat for today. Teach me to fish and I eat for my lifetime."Ms Rothman believes every child wants to achieve to his maximum potential and by teaching through and with the arts, every child can truly be his own best self.
Ms Rothman teaches the child to look, and not only to look, but to see, as an artist. She asks the child to slow down, to observe, and to think and reflect on his / her observation.To draw is to study the objects at hand which results in being able to more fully understand the world we live in. To paint, to sculpt, to create textiles, to collaborate in a group project---allows the child to learn about the subjects of science, math, language arts, technology--and ultimately our environment of today.
Ms Rothman's artwork is held in public and private collections nationwide.
Artist's Statement
It is my lifelong joy and privilege to be a magical person we call an artist. It is even more of a delight to assist our next generation in finding their own magician or inner artist. As a mature artist and a teacher, firmly grounded and trained in both disciplines, it is my duty to give back to our children and allow them to grow and achieve through the arts and education. Only if we educate our young people in the academic and arts disciplines, will we have the kind of next generation who will achieve more than our own. It is incumbent on us to do that. I feel I am giving back to society for the rich and varied art education experiences I have been blessed to internalize and now it is my duty to do that for our younger citizens. I am thrilled to be able to teach that which I taught myself--drawing, painting, textiles, murals, mobiles, found object sculpture. My most recent passion is in Botanic and Scientific Illustration--and this is what I am proposing for my residency in your school or organization. To integrate the artistic study of extremely realistic illustration into your scientific unit of study forces the student to more fully understand the structure and anatomy and reason behind the plant, bird, animal, or insect and allows the child to express his newfound knowledge of the scientific and natural world through his drawing, painting or sculpture. I collaborate and establish cross curricular connections with the teaching staff and provide a structure within which the students create a final artistic product based on your stated learning objectives and goals. This can take the form of a group project--a quilt, a mural, a found object sculpture--or individual representational drawings or watercolor or colored pencil illustrations, or both. I provide inservice art workshops for staff and administrators and collaborate with the organization to facilitate an art opening or show to demonstrate the new learning proudly incorporated into the students repetoire through art. As an art teacher in public and private schools, I was privileged to have the opportunity to work with several talented Md State Arts Council Artists in Residence, which now affords me an inside look as to how to more efficiently and smoothly organize such an experience for students, staff and administrators. I am by nature a flexible and easy going individual and am committed to work in which ever manner is best for the grantee organization.
