Educating Students - Our Passion, Our Mission
Not only does the Doel Reed Center provide unique interdisciplinary learning experiences for OSU students in Taos, the center also offers educational opportunities for young students in the Taos community. Oklahoma State University is a land grant university with a mission of offering educational outreach within the communities where it resides. Workshops and scheduled tours of Doel Reed’s studio are a few of the ways the center chooses to support the community, an area known for the arts. For the last several years, the Doel Reed Center has partnered with and supported the Taos Interdisciplinary School for the Arts (TISA), a K-8 charter school.
Dr. Carol Moder, Doel Reed Center Director, recently conducted several workshops for
TISA art students at the Doel Reed studio. With the assistance of TISA art teachers,
local artists, and Dr. Moder’s husband Brewster, the young art students toured Doel
Reed’s studio and were introduced to methods of printmaking. The students first spent
time expressing themselves through their artistic talents followed by hands-on printing
of their creations. The students, most who are very gifted artistically, had the opportunity
to practice the skill of printmaking, a dimension of the arts they probably wouldn’t
get to experience in a typical classroom setting.
After more than a year of COVID confinement, the young students were more than ready
to express themselves. They were very grateful for the opportunity to return to in-person
learning with fellow classmates. Additional workshops are scheduled for 2022.
The pandemic of 2020 and 2021 caused financial hardship to many in the Taos area. Purchasing the required art supplies for the classroom became cost prohibitive for many of the parents of the young art students. The Doel Reed community seized the opportunity to respond to this need. The 2021 Leisure Learning attendees were made aware of the TISA dilemma and generously donated about $5000 to purchase the much needed art supplies. OSU Cowboys and friends never miss an opportunity to support a worthy cause, especially one that involves educating students.
