
DATE: Sunday, November 16, 1997             TAG: 9711140233

SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER      PAGE: 03   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: CLOSE-UP 

SOURCE: Scott McCaskey 

                                            LENGTH:   74 lines

KEITH D. HARRIS ART TEACHER DECORATES YARD FOR HOLIDAYS

Keith D. Harris is an art teacher at Maury High School in Norfolk.

Some of his most visible art, however, is in Chesapeake, on his front yard in the Grassfield section. Every Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas for the past 10 years Harris has created a wide range of larger-than-life displays.

``His decorations are very impressive, and usually kind of funny,'' said Randy K. Zelinsky, whose Zelinsky's Groceries stands adjacent to Harris's property. ``It's become a community custom.''

Harris constructs his figures out of plywood, and often gives them a humorous twist.

``For Thanksgiving, I started doing some political-correctness figures,'' said Harris, 38. ``I have plucked turkey's protesting Thanksgiving, and a female turkey with a ham saying `ham-it-up for Thanksgiving.' ''

Harris began making the displays for Halloween when his children were young.

``The figures are a lot of work, but I wanted to make sure my kids had as much fun on Halloween as I did as a kid,'' he said. ``Now, I do this as a kind of tradition.''

Born in Petersburg, Harris moved here with family when he was 4, growing up not far from where he lives today.

Harris said he knew he wanted to be an artist from the seventh grade on. He achieved a degree in art education from Old Dominion University and taught at the university before taking a succession of jobs in the Norfolk Public School system. For 10 years, he has been at Maury where he teaches advanced-level drawing and painting, along with yearbook design.

Although noting that there was not as much opportunity for an art teacher in Chesapeake as he would have liked as a new college graduate, Harris said the school system has grown to embrace art.

``I'm really impressed with the growth of art education in our public schools,'' he said. ``We're winning shows now. Several of my former ODU students now teach art in schools here.''

Harris is currently in the Plus Program, made up of a group of 26 Norfolk teachers that are in training to become administrators.

``. . . I've always looked at ways to make school better,'' he said. ``Being a principal would be the most effective way.''

Full name: Keith D. Harris

Birthdate: December 10, 1958

Occupation: Art teacher at Maury High School

Hometown: Petersburg

What brought you to Chesapeake? My parents moved here when I was a child

Marital status: Married to my childhood sweetheart, Lori Roberts, for 17 years

Children: Rachel, 15; Hannah, 11; and Landon, 9

Pets: Two cats, two goldfish and one dog

Hobbies: Painting, chauffeuring my children and all their friends

Perfect day off: Spending the day with my family and taking a long drive