Letter to Maury Families

Dear Maury Families,

I am writing this letter from the dazzling new art studio at Maury Elementary. Morning is a reflective time here. All is quiet. The sun peeks through the windows and highlights the colors, textures, and rhythms of the legendary artwork that hangs on freshly painted cinderblock. Artists like Jacob Lawrence, Vincent Van Gogh, and Frida Kahlo look on, as if anxious to meet the energetic and emerging artists that will inhabit this inspiring new place all year long. Picasso, cozy in his picture frame, would have a hard time distinguishing this space from the gallery walls of the MOMA, MET, or Louvre.

My name is Lauren Bomba and I cannot wait to exercise the potential of this creative space with your child (or children) this year! Let me share a bit about myself. In May, I received my Master of Arts in Teaching in Art Education from the Corcoran College of Art + Design. My undergraduate degrees are in English-Creative Writing and Spanish. Although I am a first year teacher, I have accumulated many rich teaching experiences throughout my time at the Corcoran and beyond. I served as the Arts Integration Intern at Tyler Elementary, working with classroom teachers to develop creative ways of incorporating the arts into their classroom curriculum. I completed my student teaching with City Blossoms, a garden arts program in Columbia Heights, that teams with DC Bilingual Public Charter School to provide authentic arts instruction through nature. I am proficient in Spanish and love to find ways to add language, culture, and history into my teaching. As you might guess, I am a fan of ALL kinds of art, mediums, and artistic movements, but I will admit that I am most thrilled about having a new kiln for firing ceramics in our art studio this year, as pottery is my first love!

I plan to keep a blog to document both the process and products of our inspiring, Maury Artists. This way, families at home can keep updated about the thoughtful work your artist is involved in. Please follow along at www.studiomaury.wordpress.com. If you would not like your child’s photograph or photos of his or her work to be included in the blog, please feel free to let me know and I will respect your wishes. My intentions are for this blog to serve as a parent and school wide resource.

Our blog will also be a place for me to ask for donations for the art studio. Those who are able to donate will find that the studio is always in need of hand wipes, tissues, and paper towels. I will have a running list of recycled materials that I plan to use in projects this year, such as bottle caps/lids, large pieces of Styrofoam, plastic egg cartons to be used as paint palettes, and other funky object that can be used in sculpture or assemblage.

I am very excited to meet you and to begin establishing a unique relationship with each of your children individually. I truly believe that art allows each child to feel successful, original, and confident. Please feel free to contact me with questions at 919-357-4289 or lauren.bomba@gmail.com.

Thank you,

Lauren Bomba

Art Teacher, Maury Elementary