Explore: Classroom Ephemera

This collection of education ephemera illustrates the variety of demonstrations art teachers utilize to help guide young artists. Art teachers often use their concepts and experiences to connect with students, as there are no standardized texts for guiding the instruction of drawing and painting. Artist and educator Paul Nagle’s work in this exhibition connects the daily practice of educators to broader art institutions. Art museums, including Susquehanna Art Museum, are indebted to the work of art educators for fostering creative growth and skill-building in young artists. This exhibition gives visitors the opportunity to immerse themselves in the foundational work that often happens behind the scenes.

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Artist Biography

Paul Nagle began drawing and painting in his teens, teaching himself by copying comics and photos of his favorite bands. While in St. Augustine, Florida, at Flagler College he studied with a classically trained Italian sculptor. There, Nagle learned the demands and technical aspects of traditional arts through drawing, painting, bronze casting, and stone carving. He continued studies at the Cleveland Institute of Art in drawing and sculpture where critical theory and study with materials allowed him flexibility in thinking and encouraged creating sculpture about his environment. Nagle completed a certification and M.A. in Art Education at Case Western Reserve University and returned to Pennsylvania to begin teaching. While teaching art he continued studying sculpture and contemporary theories at the Maryland Institute, College of Art M.F.A. program. Nagle’s studio work has focused on figurative abstraction combining materials and methods in sculpture, drawing, and painting. Recently he has explored more traditional landscape painting and drawing from the human figure.