Oberon Leslie

Oberon taught and developed programs as a K-12 art educator for 33 years in Waukesha, Merton, and Hurley, Wisconsin, as an adjunct faculty member for 3 years at Gogebic Community College in Ironwood, Michigan, and for 8 years was a self-employed artist & illustrator doing work for Entwood Publishing and Julian Messner. While employed in the Hurley School District, she wrote and conducted six “Youth Service Learning” Grants, two student art displays in General Executive Facility III in Madison, WI and two student murals located at the DOT facilities, Hwy. 51 and on Hwy.77.
Her involvement as an NAEA/WAEA member for over 36 years includes: state YAM Chair for 3 years, YAM assistant chair for 3 years, eight presentations at WAEA conferences, two NAEA presentations, NW region elementary representative for the “Year of Elementary Art”, Northern Division Chairperson for 1991-93 (ASBEG Advisory Committee) for Wisconsin partners in Arts Education, and the first State Curriculum committee (Waukesha representative) 1968-69 working under Ernella Hunziker at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater. During her tenure as YAM Chair she saw Wisconsin receive a National Award of Merit in 2008 and an Award of Excellence in 2009 and 2010. She received the Outstanding Art Educator, Secondary Division award in 2002 and a WAEA Presidents award in 2008 for her work with Youth Art Month.
Oberon’s love and respect for the arts is evident not only in her WAEA/NAEA past activities but also in her personal art exhibition record for 30 years, her memberships in many art museums, her development of an ‘arts scholarship’ awarded annually for the past 24 years, and in her continued work with local community theatres where she has done sets and props for 23 productions.
Since October is National Arts and Humanities Month, she would like to end with this quote
from Robert Lynch
"Integrating the arts more fully into our lives enriches each of us, and because engaging in the arts brings individuals together, it fosters community. Art and artists aren't only in museums or concert halls -- they are all around us. Every one of us has the ability to create and to imagine a way to make our neighborhood healthier or stronger.”