Cultivating Students’ Inner Artist

Julie (Johnson) Gebauer, the Elementary Art Specialist at Sawyer and Sunrise elementary schools in Sturgeon Bay.

If you know someone who went to Sturgeon Bay schools in the past 20 years, chances are they had Mrs. Gebauer for art.

Julie (Johnson) Gebauer is the Elementary Art Specialist at Sawyer and Sunrise elementary schools in Sturgeon Bay. This year she is celebrating her 20th year teaching at Sturgeon Bay schools, and she has a total of 30 years experience teaching in Indiana and at Corpus Christi in Sturgeon Bay, where she taught from 1984 – 2000.

Gebauer was born in Sturgeon Bay and grew up as the youngest of four – the only daughter in her family. Her father, Herbert W. Johnson, was the Door County District Attorney for 14 years and her mother, Kathryn, was a social worker until she married. As a stay-at-home mom, Kathryn was always creative and Julie’s aunt was an artist.

“I always wanted to be an art teacher,” says Gebauer. “It was comfortable for me to make art. It was second nature and was reinforced at home and at school.”

Gebauer left Sturgeon Bay after high school to earn her Bachelor’s Degree in Art Education from UW-Madison and later, a Master’s Degree in Art Education from Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wis. She has been married for 38 years to her husband Bob, and they have three children – Douglas, Michael, and Kathryn, who is an artist and photographer in Montana. Gebauer also has three grandchildren that she has introduced to art and creativity, continuing the tradition into another generation of her family.

Walking into her art room at Sunrise Elementary School in Sturgeon Bay was like walking back in time to my own art class days. The room was bathed in light from large, wrap-around windows and had a sweet scent, like those markers that smell of different fruits. Charts with the “Elements of Art” and the “Principles of Design” dotted the walls, which were also covered with artwork from various artists and cultural traditions.

It is 8 am and Mr. Pairolero’s fifth grade homeroom class files in to the art room with high and scattered energy. Gebauer settles her students into a review of color and balance without wasting a moment. She has used her travels to inspire classroom projects and the day I was there, her students were working on mandalas.

Mandala loosely translates to “circle” in Sanskrit, and it represents the circles that permeate our lives and relationships and is often a tool for meditation and reflection. Gebauer takes a moment to center her student’s attention to the music in the background and asks that they begin their projects. The energy of the room is now purposeful and the students set about their work. They use albums, CDs, and other circular templates to create the initial design, then fill in their Mandalas with vibrant patterns of color.

It is still early in the year, so she gives the students a quick overview of the projects they will undertake this year and tells them they are building their skill sets with each project. As fifth graders, many of these students have been with Mrs. Gebauer for five years and know each assignment builds towards a major project at the end of the year. This year, the students will make plaster masks as their final project. A wave of excitement washes through the group and the low chatter speaks of ideas for masks and an occasional personal comment such as “my Mom met Ozzy Osbourne.” These are, after all, fifth graders.

Seeing her in action, it is clear that Gebauer is passionate about art. She believes it is important in a child’s overall education, and she wants her students to come away from her classes knowing “what they like and why they like it.” She also feels that art is a means for children to learn about the world.

“This is one of the biggest changes in students,” Gebauer tells me. “Through technology, students now have access to the world and understand that we are all connected. In class, we learn that we are more alike than we are different through art.”

Emilie Jorns-Frisque, now an eighth grader at Sturgeon Bay and a former student, says that Mrs. Gebauer’s art classes inspired her to continue with art.

“I had her as my art teacher for five years and learned so much from her,” Jorns-Frisque says. “She really brought out my inner artist. She is so positive, and you feel special with her. She is a really great teacher.”

When asked about funding for arts education, Gebauer tells me she is fortunate that her school budget has remained steady while art class budgets – and in some cases entire art programs – have been cut in schools across the country.

“Door County has such a foundation in the arts. We are fortunate that our administration supports and encourages a well-rounded arts curriculum,” she says. “That is one of the reasons I wanted to come back to Sturgeon Bay to teach.”

Gebauer also recognizes the support she has throughout the community, exemplified by the donations of supplies for her classroom. The day I was there, tiny pumpkins and gourds had been delivered for the student’s next project. After the mandalas, which were completed with colored pencils and markers, the students will work with paint, continuing to cultivate their inner artists, and well on their way to those masks of plaster.