NAME:
Dura Dittmar
SCHOOL:
Cline Elementary
CLASS:
K-3 ART
SCHOOL PHONE:
281-482- 1201
Hi, I'm Dura Dittmar, the Art teacher for K-3rd grade. I grew up in San
Antonio but have lived in Friendswood since 1991. My husband, Dwight and I
celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary this year. We have a wonderful
daughter, Deidra who is enjoying her first year of high school at FHS. We
also have two adopted dogs, Sneakers and Jackie.
Art has always been my passion. I was fortunate enough to grow up in San
Antonio near my grandmother who is a very talented porcelain artist. At age
89, Grandma was presented with a Life-time Achievement Award by the Texas
State Federation of Porcelain Artists. Grandma began teaching me porcelain
art when I was in the 6th grade. She enrolled me in the Alamo Porcelain Art
Club and took me to monthly meetings where I was able to observe porcelain
artists from all over the world demonstrate their beautiful and versatile art.
By high school, I painted well enough to make extra money painting
commissioned portraits of show dogs on porcelain. I also worked with a lamp
shop restoring hand painted antique lamp globes. I am so thankful for every
holiday and summer vacation that my daughter and I get to spend painting with
Grandma who is now 92. I love painting tiles, Christmas ornaments, plates,
vases, etc. Other types of art media I enjoy are chalk pastels, pen & ink,
graphite, colored pencil, water color, acrylics, fibers, clay, wood,
and jewelry.
After high school, I enrolled in San Antonio Community college and earned an
A.A.S. in Advertising Art. I worked as a commercial artist until I married and
moved to Corpus Christi. I enrolled at Corpus Christi State University (which
is now part of the Texas A&M system) to work on my teaching
degree. My husband's job transferred us to Bristol, TN so I transferred to
East Tennessee State University were I earned my B.S. in Elementary Education.
After graduating, we moved to
Philadelphia, PA, then to Arlington, TX, where I taught 3rd grade. We moved to
Friendswood in 1991. I taught 4th grade for one year at Longfellow Elementary
in Alvin. Then I taught 4-6th grade Art at Longfellow for 9 more years. I
began teaching Art at Cline during the 2005-2006 school year.
I am a "Signature Member" of the National Society of Artists, which means that
my work has been accepted into at least three national juried art
competitions. I attend monthly meetings, exhibit and compete with this
organization. I have also served as a demonstrator and anofficer of the NSA.
I'm looking forward to being in the National Show in October at The Art
Alliance Center at Clear Lake.
One of the more interesting art projects that I was involved in was "CowParade
Houston 2001". Artists submitted designs to the contest. The CowParade
portfolio was compiled of selected designs sent in by artists. Local companies
sponsored cows by selecting designs from the portfolio. The artists were then
commissioned to paint that design on a life-size statue of a
cow. The Cows were on exhibit all over Houston from September through
November. During December of that year, all the artists made repairs on the
cows and got them ready for auction! The proceeds from the auction went to
Texas Children's Hospital. I painted "The Gum-bull Machine" which was sold at
auction and then donated to the Ronald McDonald House. I painted Cookies 'n
Cream" (which lives happily in somebody's back yard.) I also partnered with
one of my art teacher friends from Alvin to paint "The Moolan Ryan Express"
sponsored by Nolan Ryan.
