Central High teacher to give presentation at art conference

A Cape Girardeau Central High School art teacher is preparing for a trip to Chicago this month to talk to his peers about sculpting.

Robert Friedrich has been selected to speak at the National Art Education Association conference taking place from March 22 to 26.

On March 24 Friedrich will deliver a presentation to fellow art teachers on subtractive sculpture -- carving out of one solid piece of material like wood or metal -- and abstract figurative form.

This is the sixth conference Friedrich has attended, but the first at which he'll give a presentation. The NAEA conference is designed to help art educators learn more about their subject and how to teach it.

Friedrich will be one of 16 from Missouri and approximately 1,000 overall educators giving presentations at the conference, said NAEA deputy executive director Dr. Larry Peeno. Friedrich was chosen based on a proposal he sent to the organization.

About 50 percent of the proposals are accepted by the organization, said Peeno.

"It's always an honor to give a presentation in front of your peers, because they'll be your most vocal critics," said Peeno.

Friedrich said giving the presentation is important to him given the lack of professional development opportunities for arts educators in the field of three-dimensional art.

"I think sculpture is an area that is lacking in some interest in terms of somebody going up and giving a seminar on it," Friedrich said. "It's out there but a lot of teachers don't teach it."

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182