For those seeking a career in art curating, Elizabeth Schlatter is a great resource. With 15 years of museum experience, she recently published an e-book on fabjob.com titled "Become an Art Curator." The book should go into print sometime in 2005.

As an art curator, she organizes exhibitions of artwork borrowed from her museum's collection as well as other museums. Her most recent exhibition was Structures of Nature: Photographs by Andreas Feininger on view at the University of Richmond Museums from 2002 to 2003, which was accompanied by a catalogue distributed by the University of Washington Press.

"As with many jobs in non-profit professions, the most challenging aspect is balancing the administrative work with the creative work," she says. "I'd love to spend all day dreaming up new shows and working with artists, but to keep the department running we also have to apply for grants, stay on top of forms, attend departmental meetings, and other general duties."

Besides her work with the University of Richmond Museums, Schlatter is an independent curator and sits on the board of CurCom, a standing professional committee of the American Association of Museums. She is a member of the College Art Association and ArtTable, an organization for women leaders in the arts.

She says her interest in the arts was sparked at an early age in Houston. "I grew up in a part of town with easy access to excellent museums. My family and I visited them regularly, and my school had several field trips. My mother signed my brother and myself up for summer time art classes to get us out of the house!"

Seeking funds to help pay for her supplies as an art history major and studio art minor, she begged for work from the business office and wound up as a gallery assistant for Professor of Art Star Varner. "Star kindly took me on and got me involved with all aspects of gallery work, from hanging the artwork to writing press releases to organizing mailings and receptions. I just loved it. Star became my mentor and really gave me the impetus to look into museum work. She's still a very important presence in my life."

After spending seven months in Europe after graduation, Schlatter found her first job at the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston. She began as a receptionist and then worked as a development and membership assistant, which introduced her to the basics of museum and exhibition management.

"Realizing that I wanted to research, curate, and publish, I applied to graduate schools to gain a master's in art history. I chose George Washington University because I knew I wanted to study where I could also get internships and jobs. Washington D.C. has some of the best museums in the world. I quickly found an internship at the Smithsonian's American Art Museum."

She went on to work for the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, where she traveled the country setting up exhibition tours as project director. At the same time, she began freelance exhibition curating and art criticism. "I found that these things I did "on the side" were exactly what I wanted to do all along, which led me to my current work.

Schlatter and her spouse, Anthony, have a one-year-old daughter, Miranda Elizabeth. She enjoys taking classes on teaching, yoga and ceramics. "You name it, I've taken a class on it or plan to do so. I don't plan on becoming an expert in any of these areas, but I still love learning. I get ideas for creative projects from all sorts of unusual inspiration."