Tribute to my Art Teachers

I might be naturally talented but sometimes I believe all my Art teachers since nursery helped me polish my skills to some level...Below is a tribute to them:

Mrs Achere, R.I.P. (Primary One 1990): fat; caring; met me again in 1991 while visiting my eldest sister Gladys alongside my family at Tororo Girls School. She also had a daughter there. Taught simple drawings plus English Language… I was Third Overall in Second Term and First Overall among 2 other male classmates before joining Primary Two; I heard that she died of cancer, GOD bless her soul…

Miss Nabirye (Primary Three 1992): a Musoga with Somali features; brown; tall; quite slender but looked very strong… Was the Class Teacher and once asked the class why my grades were deteriorating. Classmates for whom I used to draw pictures confessed openly that it was because I spent more time on Art than reading…That was the beginning of my aggressive focus on books…

Miss Ganda (Primary Four 1993): Very sexy Science teacher, a hottie like Emily – my Number One Campus Galfi and Mariam Were – the classmate who was the Beauty of my Dreams at that time; Miss Ganda liked my style; I remember drawing a skeleton and other images with all my heart during science class-work and subconsciously cementing my reputation as a promising artist…

(My Primary Five Art teacher was arguably the Most Beautiful I have ever had 1994): brown, fleshy and wonderfully good-looking… I loved doing her English tests too. She would borrow an Indian named Raju’s metallic ruler and hit the heads of noisy pupils or those who failed her home work. Didn’t involve us so much in Art but had a good taste for artistic things…

Pajero (My Primary Six Class Teacher before I left Victoria Nile Primary School 1995) was a very entertaining fellow; Used to call his ‘Hero’ bicycle a Pajero and also taught Science like Mr. Bamwamye. Science tests in the mid 90s used to amuse me because if they asked a question whose answer I did not know, I would just answer with any powerful idea or name I had read in any American Science encyclopedia or text book thinking the teacher would bow down for me and mark it correct; talk of Albert Einstein discovering the vaccine for small pox. You are wrong, Edward. Those were the days… Pajero would just give us an Art topic to work on and go away…

Miss Kibone (Primary Six Class Teacher 1995): she taught craft making and English; I was kind of her pet according to classmates - As class monitor at Kalinabiri Primary School [I wonder why they chose me so fast even when I had not completed a term there], I did so many things to make sure the class was running smoothly… I did not do any Art in Primary Seven because it was not examined during PLE. Meanwhile, Miss Kibone assured the pupils after us that I would write like a computer…

Mr. Godfrey Lutaaya (Senior One – Four 1997-2000): I think this was the best and realest Art Teacher in my life (You know what ‘am sayin’?) because he specialised in teaching the Profession unlike the ladies and gentlemen before him; He not only exposed us to masterpieces by old students before us but also took us on Art Tours to Grand Imperial Hotel and Michaelangelo School of Creative Arts just nearby in Kisubi…Taught me how not to fear painting and so many other professional Art techniques besides supplying powder paints, art pencils and brushes to my exclusive Art Class after Senior Three at SMACK. No wonder while at Macos, I often saw him at Makerere University probably for more Art or Education studies…

Mr. Kikolokomba (Senior Five 2001): My very last Art teacher before campus; I studied in his class for the first 3 weeks when I was a day scholar at Macos and struck out because my academic marks where too low considering the effort and spirit I put into my work. To continue building on my Art Dreams though, I willingly took on projects commissioned by students and teachers…Later after campus, I met Mr. Kiko at the National theatre while starting a backdrop painting for KADS and he gave me tips on what to do. Actually encouraged me that I could make it…