Brandy Noody
2018 Dolores Levin Memorial Scholarship
Brandy Noody was awarded a Delores Levin Memorial Scholarship in 2018 to attend Debra Bonsack’s workshop. After a great experience, Brandy took her new inspiration and knowledge back to her classroom, and also to fellow art teachers in New York State. Brandy was honored with the NYSATA Region 1 Art Educator of the Year Award. In 2020, Brandy will be joining a group of Art Educators to attend a special workshop based on experiencing Italian Art, Art History, and Culture and sharing the experience as curriculum in their classrooms.
Special thanks to Golden Paints for their support of Debra Bonsack, and donation of supplies to Brandy for her classes at home.
“It is not just one person who is impacted by a scholarship, there’s a big carry over to the community at home.”
Thank you to the Scholarship Committee who placed me in this workshop. It had not been my first choice, but it challenged me in a new way. The Committee saw the potential in me learning this technique before I did. I would not have been financially able to have this experience without a scholarship.
Debra Bonsack’s workshop was a challenge to my comfort zone. I hadn’t worked with her before, and the other students had some pre-workshops with her, so I was the least prepared. I’m used to knowing the most about art in a room of students, so it was a great insight into the experience that my students have.
My preconceived idea was that I would have time to sit somewhere and paint. The reality was more like being a kid in a candy store – soaking it all up and getting inspired in so many ways.
Debra was amazing. She was kind and generous with her time and knowledge. She loved the group and the participants helped each other. The atmosphere was so welcoming. Debra created this process and she wanted to teach us so that we could use it and make it our own.
While at La Romita, I took thousands of pictures. When I went back to my classroom, I let my students pick a photo that inspired them. Then I took them step by step through the process I learned to create a textured acrylic. At the end of the project, the students voted to do another one, with pictures of their own. In my Advanced Placement class, I had one student who did an entire concentration in the technique.
People are hungry for this kind of experience. I have been shouting from the rooftops about this workshop at La Romita! I came back and used the technique in my own work as well as in the classroom. I did a class for the NYSATA Region 1 (New York Arts Educators). I finished two of my pieces at home, and they were exhibited at two shows. Based on one of those works, I was offered a solo gallery show!
-Brandy Noody April 10, 2019