Seekonk Art Teacher Cures Wanderlust With Wayfare

Nancy Corrigan Wilbert's professional reputation is based upon her 27 years at. But there's more to the educator than a colorful resume. In addition to her significant contribution as an art teacher, she’s also an artist in her own right with diverse bodies of work in writing, painting, ceramics and photography.

With a vivacious personality and no small sense of adventure, Wilbert has built herself a “happy life” as an educator and creator.

“The kids actually asked me to play this for them the other day,” she says with a laugh, referring to her CD of Bobby McFerrin’s hit single Don’t Worry, Be Happy. 

Wilbert received a degree in art education from Rhode Island College in the late '70s.  After graduation, when she couldn’t find work locally due to a bad economy, she did the next logical thing – she took a job in Poland. There she worked as a traveling regional art teacher for a number of schools. Four years later, she returned to the States and was hired by Seekonk administrators.

With the exception of a one-year leave of absence to teach art in Singapore, Wilbert now itches her travel bug by trekking during summers and holidays. Her photography work is indicative of her far-flung adventures, with images of wild animals and African tribes set against arid, desert backdrops. On a recent trip to Peru – where she climbed Machu Picchu – Wilbert had the pleasure of meeting master ceramist, Pablo Seminario.

“When he heard I was an art teacher, he didn’t want me to leave,” she remembers. “We spent the day together in his studio. He was more than happy to share his art with me.”

Wilbert seems to move fluidly between each of her creative ventures. Her most recent body of work began with a spontaneous painting of Dagmar, her beloved corgi.

“One summer day my husband was going to work and he said ‘What are you going to do today?’ I said ‘I don’t know I think I’ll paint a picture of Dagmar,” Wilbert remembers. “A friend saw it and asked if I could paint her dog. So I did a bulldog next. Then everybody kept asking me.”

Now Wilbert regularly paints pet portrait commissions for clients. She also donates her services to Seekonk Animal Shelter’s annual auction.

As an art maker, Wilbert mostly considers herself a ceramist though, and is adept at both wheel-thrown and hand built sculpture. She has taught other educators about working with clay through the New England Art Educators Association and this year alone has had three of her ceramic lessons published in the national School Arts magazine. 

Above all, teaching has been Wilbert’s lifelong passion. Though she plans to retire within a few years, she hopes to continue working to develop software programs for art educators.

As she looks around her classroom reflecting on creativity she beams a bright smile.

“Can you believe I get paid to come here and work? I love what I do," she says. "I think if you’re happy you live a long life. And, I plan on living a long life.”