b'presidents statementTAEA was a small association between the 60 and 70s. Some of our members were still studying in universities around the country and across Texas. During that time, a big story in the Panhandle was about an art teacher who taught in Amarillo in 1916 and then opened the art department at West Texas State Normal College, now West Texas A&M University. That art teacher became a legend in the history of art education in Texas. If you dont know the teacher that came to teach in the Panhandle, it was Georgia OKeeffe. Looking back, before and after Georgia OKeefe came to Texas, there were a lot of art departments just getting started in the small towns and larger cities in Texas. With this came one-person programs, where art educators worked alone due to the long distances between population centers of Texas. Groups of art educators who were fortunate to live in Texas larger cities came together and developed urban communities for art education. Programs developed in various ways. Those lone wolf artists/educators found their peers, and urban artists/educators began working together. Art museums started growing more extensive and more became founded. Recognizing their programs, museums became prominent sources for Texas education. With this growth, art educators began taking the long trips we, as artists/educators, needed to view the art of Texas and the world.Artists and educators in Texas could learn from other artists as we opened studios of our own and studio classrooms. We could meet at conferences and visit each others homes and studios more easily. Our community of artists/art educators grew. Those living in East Texas, the Gulf Coast, the Rio Grande Valley, the Blackland Prairies, the High Plains, and West Texas came together as the heart of this community. In its growth, Texas Art Education Association promoted and nurtured a vibrant community of artists/educators in studios and schools in Texas; this helped bring us together. We need to remember that this growth and all the encompassing experiences helped us now create art, artist, and artists/educators of the next generation. Moving forward, we continue to create spaces for ourselves as artists and educators as we participate in broader spectrums of art communities in Texas and beyond.Walter Holland,TAEA PresidentTRENDS // PAGE 2PAGE 3 // TRENDS'