Philanthropy meets creativity

COEUR d’ALENE — Take a moment to discuss with your neighbor and be sure to share your work with the class.

Members of the North Idaho Education Association Retired Chapter took a page out of their own playbooks as they participated in an EngAGE Artfully class led by retired art teacher Tama Meyer, a founding member of the North Idaho group.

“The more you practice, you will see that you’ll look at things differently," Meyer said to the roughly 20 retired educators, collectively with hundreds of years of teaching experience, who gathered in a community room at Coeur d'Alene Fire Station No. 3 near Cherry Hill.

"When I say, ‘Go out and walk and look at the trees,’ you’ll actually be looking at them differently, like, ‘What do they feel like?’ or ‘What does the bark look like?’” Meyer said as art journals and techniques were discussed. “All that kind of thinking is great.”

Thursday's assignment was one of creativity and philanthropy. The former teachers were tasked with creating watercolor illustrations modeled after an example presented by Meyer.

“What would your fish look like if they were swimming through the waves?" she prompted the group. "You can draw right on top of the waves, it doesn’t matter.”

Prints will be made of the teachers' final products, which are as unique as each of the individuals who created them. The cards will be sold to raise money for the nonprofit Idaho Education Association Children's Fund, a special fund devoted to providing financial assistance and resources to Idaho public schoolchildren and families facing extraordinary circumstances.

Meyer said up to $250 can be requested at one time to help a student in need.

“Basically, they call in and say, ‘I have a student that needs shoes and a coat,’ and they send the money right to the teacher,” she said.

North Idaho uses more of that money than any other district in the state, Meyer said.

“We have a lot of needy kids up here,” she said.

All the retired chapter members were active with the Idaho Education Association during their careers. Grants from the association pay for the supplies for the members to participate in the art classes, Meyer explained.

"And they love it, which I’m excited about,” she said.

Vera Taggart, who spent 32 years of her 35-year career teaching kindergarten, first and second grades in the Lakeland Joint School District, has been a member of the retired association for about five years following her retirement at the end of the 2007-2008 school year.

“It’s a little intimidating for a primary teacher to be doing this advanced art class,” she said. "It’s advanced art for my background."

She said it's good for people of retirement age to be using the right side of their brain. The right side is associated with spatial thinking and image processing.

"We’re seniors, so they say the more you work it, the less you’re going to lose it,” she said. “It’s just a really fun, fun class.”

Kate McDanal, a former Woodland Middle School teacher who retired in 2016, said she loves the socialization of the art classes.

“I live alone, so I look forward to the gatherings, especially in the wintertime," McDanal said. "I do feel that creativity is an important part of life. They say creativity is helpful in living longer."

Rebecca Priano taught music for 42 years in the Northwest. She spent 18 of those years teaching in Post Falls and retired five years ago.

“This is really a stretch for me,” she said. “This kind of art is all new to me."

Although a challenge for some of the retirees, they all gave it a good effort and explored their creative prowess while enjoying the company of peers.

“I think we’re all lifelong learners,” Priano said. “It doesn’t stop when your job stops or when you graduate from high school. It’s just forever."

As of Monday afternoon, the Idaho Education Association Children's Fund has provided $1,546,365 to Idaho schoolchildren for a total of $4,280 distributed per month through 7,047 grants since the fund's 1997 inception.

Info: ieachildrensfund.org

    Vera Taggart, who spent 32 years of her 35-year teaching career in the Lakeland Joint School District, holds up her art journal Thursday as she and other members of the North Idaho Education Association Retired Chapter create illustrations that will be sold to support Idaho kids in need.
  

    Colorful prints of artwork are seen Thursday as retired art instructor Tama Meyer instructs fellow retired educators on their new artistic assignment during an EngAGE Artfully class in Coeur d'Alene.
  

    Members of the North Idaho Education Association Retired Chapter show off the final products of their art projects Thursday afternoon. Their art will help raise money for Idaho public school students in need. Back row, from left: Candra Guenther, Dennis Houchin, Nancy Ison, Melinda Tompkins, Cedris Shepperd, Rebecca Priano, Kathy Gray, Bette Price, Sally Suppiger, Kate McDanal, Janet Hoffman and Jill Houcin. Front row, from left: JoAnn Harvey, Darlene Wright, Mary Lee Ruch, Tama Meyer, Laura Bauman, Vera Taggart and Jan Studer.