Ron Fabin
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The following interview was conducted on February 24, 2026, by Linda Conti, a current VAEA Fellow and Retired Chair on the VAEA Board. This interview is part of the Virginia Art Education Association Distinguished Fellows’ Legends and Legacies Project, a project intended to preserve the histories of prominent Virginia art educators for posterity.
Ron Fabin is someone I have wanted to meet for a long time, as his path through VAEA was similar to mine. He taught art in northern Virginia schools, was president (and other officer roles prior) of the northern region, and then worked his way up through the officer slots on the VAEA Board. He served on the Board for nine years, including two years as President of VAEA from 2002 to 2003. He was someone many people thought of highly. We met at he and his wife’s beautiful old home in Berryville, Virginia on a brisk winter morning. We had a quick connection in that Ron grew up on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania, one of six children. My family are dairy farmers in Maine, and I am one of seven kids, so we have that in common. Ron, the youngest child, was lucky in that he did not have to get up early to do the morning chores. He was allowed to do his chores after school, just in time for milking. He mentioned how everything they needed came from the farm: meat, vegetables, milk, etc. That connection to the land made an imprint on him. Ron is committed to connections. His family was supportive of his pursuing art, as they realized he did not want to work on the farm. Ron remembers realizing at 11 or 12 that he was “not a farmer”. His favorite class in school was art, and his friends recognized him as being talented. He attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania, receiving a B.S. in Art Education in 1979. He then went on to earn an M.A. in Education from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1988. |
He was teaching at Daniel Morgan Middle School in Winchester, VA, and heard about an opportunity to participate in a teacher exchange with England through the Fulbright program. He jumped at the chance and headed off to teach at a comprehensive school in Northern England for a year. One of the best parts of the job was the regular breaks between sessions, which allowed Ron to travel all over Europe and even Russia and Egypt. He feels strongly that art history as well as general history must be a part of art education. Ron says, “If I wasn’t an art teacher, I could be a history teacher!”
In 1998, Ron was selected to participate in the Japanese Fulbright Memorial Fund Program. He was granted a three-week study tour of Japan. He really enjoyed this experience of Japan’s government, education, history, and culture. After teaching for twenty-one years in the Winchester Public School System, Ron taught art for one year at Stonebridge High School in Loudoun County before opening the Art Department at Heritage High School. VAEA’s Blue Ridge Region named Ron Secondary Teacher of the Year in 1993. This was followed by VAEA’s Board awarding him the Art Educator of the Year Award in 2003. He presented consistently at VAEA conferences over the years.
Ron has advocated for art education in Virginia in many different ways. He served as a Virginia Commissioner for the Arts from 2013 to 2016. He was Fine Arts Department Chair at Heritage High School, President of the Blue Ridge Fine Arts League, member of the Lord Fairfax Community College’s Art Curriculum Advisory Committee, led study tours of England, New York, and Washington, DC for students, and received various Scholastic Art and Writing Awards over the years. Ron taught in a number of Virginia schools: Daniel Morgan Middle School, John Handley High School, Stonebridge High School, and Heritage High School. He went part time in 2017, and then fully retired from teaching in 2021.
As to his own art, Ron shared his beautiful collection of Christmas cards from over the years. He is a very capable draftsman, creating a series of cards that are beautifully rendered, both celebrating his family and also drawing on history in their style. Along the way he fell in love with pop-up cards, and so his card series are all dimensional as well. One would be very lucky to make his card list!
He likes to create art in a wide variety of processes. He loves photography and printmaking. His cards are beautiful, and he also makes fabric quilts that are layered with family and art references. They are stunningly hand-sewn. He shared a series of stained-glass pieces that he made with students, some of which are permanently installed in the entrance to Heritage High School.
Everything has not always been easy for Ron. Thirty years ago, just after his first child was born, he suddenly came down with Guillame-Barre syndrome. This is a terrible disease where the insulation on your nerves breaks down completely. He was paralyzed for months while waiting for a full recovery. This experience can radically change your approach to life. He has a wonderful sense of presence in the moment at hand. He values his life, his family, his art. He always tried to do the best job he could to help others around him.
His family is his focus: wife Janet teaches art at Virginia Avenue Charlotte DeHart Elementary school in Winchester. They have been married happily for 35 years. His children, Lauren and Adam, are grown and thriving. They are often referenced in his art.
His legacy after teaching for forty years is a lasting connection to his former students, many of whom he runs into in his community. Quite a few of Ron’s former students are now teaching art. His dentist was once one of his students! Ron says, “I did what I intended: made the kids appreciate art and am proud that the students are aware of the connections between art and history, even if they are not working as an artist.”
If this is Ron’s intended legacy, he has certainly succeeded. He sets a strong example of leadership in the arts, a clear path for others to follow.
In 1998, Ron was selected to participate in the Japanese Fulbright Memorial Fund Program. He was granted a three-week study tour of Japan. He really enjoyed this experience of Japan’s government, education, history, and culture. After teaching for twenty-one years in the Winchester Public School System, Ron taught art for one year at Stonebridge High School in Loudoun County before opening the Art Department at Heritage High School. VAEA’s Blue Ridge Region named Ron Secondary Teacher of the Year in 1993. This was followed by VAEA’s Board awarding him the Art Educator of the Year Award in 2003. He presented consistently at VAEA conferences over the years.
Ron has advocated for art education in Virginia in many different ways. He served as a Virginia Commissioner for the Arts from 2013 to 2016. He was Fine Arts Department Chair at Heritage High School, President of the Blue Ridge Fine Arts League, member of the Lord Fairfax Community College’s Art Curriculum Advisory Committee, led study tours of England, New York, and Washington, DC for students, and received various Scholastic Art and Writing Awards over the years. Ron taught in a number of Virginia schools: Daniel Morgan Middle School, John Handley High School, Stonebridge High School, and Heritage High School. He went part time in 2017, and then fully retired from teaching in 2021.
As to his own art, Ron shared his beautiful collection of Christmas cards from over the years. He is a very capable draftsman, creating a series of cards that are beautifully rendered, both celebrating his family and also drawing on history in their style. Along the way he fell in love with pop-up cards, and so his card series are all dimensional as well. One would be very lucky to make his card list!
He likes to create art in a wide variety of processes. He loves photography and printmaking. His cards are beautiful, and he also makes fabric quilts that are layered with family and art references. They are stunningly hand-sewn. He shared a series of stained-glass pieces that he made with students, some of which are permanently installed in the entrance to Heritage High School.
Everything has not always been easy for Ron. Thirty years ago, just after his first child was born, he suddenly came down with Guillame-Barre syndrome. This is a terrible disease where the insulation on your nerves breaks down completely. He was paralyzed for months while waiting for a full recovery. This experience can radically change your approach to life. He has a wonderful sense of presence in the moment at hand. He values his life, his family, his art. He always tried to do the best job he could to help others around him.
His family is his focus: wife Janet teaches art at Virginia Avenue Charlotte DeHart Elementary school in Winchester. They have been married happily for 35 years. His children, Lauren and Adam, are grown and thriving. They are often referenced in his art.
His legacy after teaching for forty years is a lasting connection to his former students, many of whom he runs into in his community. Quite a few of Ron’s former students are now teaching art. His dentist was once one of his students! Ron says, “I did what I intended: made the kids appreciate art and am proud that the students are aware of the connections between art and history, even if they are not working as an artist.”
If this is Ron’s intended legacy, he has certainly succeeded. He sets a strong example of leadership in the arts, a clear path for others to follow.