The Most Read Stories of 2022: Linda Austerberry Recalls Life As a Boyertown Student and Art Teacher

[Renowned Boyertown Area Senior High art teacher Linda Rohrbach Austerberry revisits her days as a student and as an art teacher in this Nov. 14 article honoring American Education Week.]

Linda Austerberry has been an artist all her life -- an artist who, at 7 years old, knew she wanted to teach. Pottery became her main medium throughout her 35+ years teaching high school.

She's bee throwing pots for more than 50 years. Everyone within 40 miles of Boyertown must own at least one piece of her work. Her most popular pieces include brie bakers, chip and dips, bowls of all sizes, coffee mugs, tureens, unique carafes, and crocks in a host of beautiful glazes.

But in addition to pottery, Linda is an accomplished portrait artist, and there’s proof. Recently, in organizing her files, she discovered photographs she had taken when she was in high school of a project that Richard Flannery, her senior social studies teacher, assigned her.

“Here’s the thing,” Linda explains. “I couldn’t stop talking in class,and so, Mr. Flannery asked if I could draw portraits of the world leaders on his chalk board to decorate the classroom. This was in the mid-60’s. Of course, I said yes, and so, using colored chalk, I created life-sized portraits of leaders like Robert Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Charles de Gaulle, for example. He was very happy with the work, and I was very happy to be doing something to keep myself out of trouble,” she laughs. 

Click here to read the full article. 

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