Roberta Hudlow SL shares art of teaching and seeing everyday beauty

Roberta Hudlow SL stands among the Loretto Community’s most prolific artists and inspiring art teachers. 

Roberta has taught art in many Loretto schools, including Nerinx High School and Marian Middle School in St. Louis, Toolen Academy in Mobile, Ala., and Loretto High School in Louisville. Her teaching style revolves around the use of creativity and intuition. Says Roberta, “Enriching the human being – that is Loretto education, that is the spirit of Loretto.”

Her goal as a teacher was to develop problem-solving and creativity. “Turning learning into play was the best thing I could think of for students,” Roberta says. She notes she always emphasized that to teach, you have to respect children as individuals. “They may be short but they deserve respect!” To her, the most important thing is to pay attention to the students, regardless of what is being taught. “The most important thing I heard from students that I had taught was that ‘I saw them.’”

As she reflects on her own artistry she shares, “A big thing I learned in my life is that there is a difference between who is an art teacher and who is an artist. An artist is driven, they have to do art every day; they feel deprived if they don’t have that opportunity to work and they work daily at it. I never had that. I did a few paintings on my own, but I never developed something that I felt I really wanted to do.”

Though Roberta has felt more like a teacher than an artist we would disagree! Her work has inspired her students and Community members alike. In addition to painting, she  has experimented with a number of other mediums, including sculpture, photography, the intersection of art and instrument, printmaking – only to name a few! 

Now her time at the Motherhouse revolves around art she can see each day. Her phone is filled with thousands of photographs with everyday beauty. She has always focused on slowing down and being observant to the smallest details around her. 

Through her teaching and her art, Roberta reminds us that everyday beauty is always within reach. This week on Loretto’s Facebook page we will feature just a few of her incredible works that speak to her attention to detail and incredible presence. We hope you enjoy it!