Spring Social At Home Honoree: Nancy Dick-Atkinson
April 8, 2020
Today we are starting our Spring Social at Home festivities by honoring the first out of four faculty members who have supported and taught at the Eliot School for 20+ years. Learn more about Nancy below and help us honor her legacy!
NANCY DICK-ATKINSON
A Legacy of Longevity
The Eliot School opened in 1676 as a grammar school. Inside these walls, we’ve taught classes and enriched the community for almost 344 years. The faculty that we honor this year represent over 135 years of our history in combined years teaching. They have shared their knowledge, skills, and hearts with their students, creating and making not only extraordinary works of art and functional pieces of furniture, but also a community. Art sparks joy and connects us. We are proud to call these instructors part of our Eliot School family and celebrate their dedication to craft and lifelong learning.
Nancy came to the Eliot School as a student of the late Nils Johnson and began teaching framing and gilding in 1995. For her, the Eliot School was just what she needed at the right time and she’s been here ever since. Nancy believes in the Eliot School and its mission and loves sharing her knowledge with her students. “When you teach a technique that is over 500 years old, you have to pay it forward and keep that craft alive. That’s what the Eliot School allows me to do.” Nancy Dick-Atkinson has specialized in the restoration of gold-leafed objects for over three decades.
“I love teaching because I am still learning new things myself, and a lot of what I learn is because of my students. They can ask some very penetrating questions that force me to examine my own long-held techniques and ways of doing things. I meet people from other disciplines and they have ideas and make suggestions about materials, tools, and techniques that I may have never thought of. Teaching can be a very collaborative experience. I value and look forward to it.”
Honor her legacy and support the Eliot School’s work to inspire students of all ages to create, learn and grow. Join us for the SPRING SOCIAL AT HOME on Sunday, April 26.