|
Sheila Trautman
Sheila Trautman has been in love with art since she was a child growing up in Queens, New York. She still has fond memories of the first artist’s desk that her father built just for her while she was attending Music and Art High School in Manhattan. She continued to use it while studying art at Queens College (CUNY).
Her life took a turn and she became a teacher. While working as a teacher, she incorporated her love of art into all of her lessons. Her students used various art forms to learn about history, science, math, and English. As a teacher, she worked for years with the teaching artists of the Metropolitan Opera Guild creating original operas with children, including the script and song writing, music, set design, and general production. Today she is still actively volunteering with the New Jersey Opera contributing lesson plans for teachers for the arts in education program.
As she prepared for her retirement in Jewett, New York, she began to rediscover her love of watercolor painting was excited to begin to show her work in various galleries on the Mountain Top.
As a constant student, she has also taken art classes to learn many new techniques that would enable her to grow as an artist, and she is already working on influencing the next generation of artists by teaching her two young grandsons how to paint. They are still mastering finger painting, but she has high hopes for them as they develop their own artistic style.
She was enthusiastic about joining the Windham Arts Alliance and becoming an integral member of the Board of Directors. She has actively co-chaired both the Sandcastle Competition and Art Fest, and many other activities sponsored by WAA. Sheila has thoroughly enjoyed working with the other members of the Arts Alliance to bring more art and culture to this area. She is also on the Board of the Greene County Council on the Arts.
As a watercolorist, she enjoys exploring and capturing the ever-changing landscapes in our beautiful country. She believes that art should reflect the emotions of the artist towards varied subjects and enjoys painting outdoor subjects.
|
