David Hodge was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to a family that deeply appreciated art. From his cousin Arnold Pyle’s friendship and work with Grant Wood, to cousin Bert Geer Phillips, who founded the Taos Art Colony with Ed Blumenschein, his family respected artists and honored them.
After attending Cedar Rapids Public Schools, David pursued higher education at the University of Iowa (in Iowa City), where he majored in Art and Art Education. There he met Professor Frank Wachowiak, an art educator whose methods and theory completely upended art education in the United States in the late 1950s and early ‘60s. Along with Dr. Wachowiak, David worked closely with his friend Theodore “Ted” Ramsay, another art educator and talented artist who was interested in children’s art.
After teaching art in Muscatine, Iowa, and Downers Grove, Illinois, in 1961, David returned to the University of Iowa to pursue a Masters Degree in Art Education. He worked closely again with Wachowiak and taught art at University High School from 1961-1964. It was his experience at this Laboratory School that set the course of his career.
David stayed an extra year at Iowa so that his wife, Margaret, could complete her BFA in Theatre and Dance. At this point he saw a job posting for an art teacher at another laboratory school at what is now called University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. He was drawn to the position because he would have absolute freedom in the classroom and could work on whatever projects he wished. Also, it was a kindergarten through 9th-grade school with just one class at each grade level, which gave him the opportunity to work with students of different ages.
The laboratory school at the University of Iowa offered a well- planned sequence based upon both the teacher’s developed aesthetic convictions and on his understanding of the child’s interests, needs and impressive potential. These represent the core and foundation of this qualitative program in art, a program which provides a variety of challenges in a wide range of exciting materials. It allows for art sessions long enough for real involvement in technique, providing the child with multiple opportunities to explore, experiment, select, organize and appreciate.
This is where Professor Hodge developed his creative talents that made the classes he taught in Oshkosh so outstanding and memorable for his many students over the years. Congratulations to Professor Hodge.
— Ted Ramsay, co-author of Art in Depth and Emphasis on Art
After a year at the Rose C. Swart Laboratory School in Oshkosh, he went to the University of Georgia at Athens from 1966-1968 and earned his Master of Fine Arts, a terminal degree in his field. Professor Frank Wachowiak had been lured from Iowa to Georgia by the head of the Art Department, the noted artist Lamar Dodd, and David was again working with Wachowiak to further develop their theory of teaching art to children and also to the college students who would become art teachers. During this period David co-authored a book with Wachowiak called Art in Depth, about teaching art in the junior high/middle school grades.
After graduating from Georgia, David returned to his position at the Campus School in Oshkosh where he was the art teacher, and where he supervised student teachers and taught Art Methods classes. When Campus School closed its doors in 1974, David moved to UWO’s Art Department full time, where he continued to teach art education as well as other art classes. His primary interest was in non-Art majors who planned to become classroom teachers.
Since classroom teachers often find themselves teaching art projects, he taught them a variety of techniques they could implement themselves and gave them the confidence to continue to explore art in their own classrooms. David grew to love his college students as much as he loved his Campus School students. Since they weren’t Art majors, they were open to learning and trying just about anything and he was proud of their successes.
David retired from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 1997 but continued to teach Art Methods classes each semester for many years. David’s wife, Margaret Hodge, died in 2008 and he still misses her terribly. After her death his students gave focus and meaning to his life as he grieved.
Today, David Hodge lives in his home in Amherst, Wisconsin, where his former Campus School students and university students are frequent visitors. He delights in their achievements and enjoys hearing about their adventures. He is surrounded by art — his own and his students’ as well as the works of other noted artists. Every day is still an adventure.
(bottom right image, left to right) Frank Wachowiak, co-author of the books Art in Depth and Emphasis: Art; Theodore Ramsay, co-author of Emphasis: Art; and David Hodge, co-author of Art in Depth
