I created this blog to keep students and their families up to date with what is going on in the art room. Because we don't bring home our art work until the end of the school year, I often take pictures of student work, and students while they are working, to share what we have been up to.
I try to update at least monthly so I hope that you check back often.
I also have an Albemarle Middle School Arts Facebook Page, which I am going to try to update more often.
A little bit about Me
I was born and raised in New York but spent my summers in Charlotte with my mother's family. North Carolina has always felt like home and when my father had the opportunity to transfer to Charlotte for his job, I tagged along. I have my BA in Studio Arts from Winthrop University, with a double minor in Art History and History. I also have an AA in Advertising Design and Graphic Arts from The Art Institute in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Prior to becoming a teacher, I worked in the graphic design field for a company that did medical packaging, advertising and illustration.
As an artist, I enjoy painting, mostly with water colors but I have been experimenting with mixed-media lately. There are very few mediums that I don't like working with but like most artists, I feel more comfortable doing some things more than others. As a teacher, I feel like it is part of my job to introduce my students to as many different types of art as I possibly can so I try to get out of my comfort zone from time to time and experiment with different kinds of art. In those cases, we are all learning together.
One of my favorite things is Art History and I try to incorporate a little bit of that in every lesson that I do. I love to share my love of art with my students and introduce them to a world that they may be unfamiliar with. It is my firm belief that through the arts, we learn so much about our history and the world. As often as I can, I will try to integrate what I am doing in the art room with what students are learning in their other classes.
The 2017-2018 school year will be my 27th (what?) year of teaching and I still love my job! Everyday, I get to be creative, make things and spend time with my favorite people. You can't get much better than that!
Several years ago, after living in Charlotte for 20 years, I decided to make Albemarle my home. I bought a little house not far from school and spend a lot of time fixing it up and changing it around. When I'm not working, I love to read, travel (especially to the beach), paint and fiddle with new kinds of artsy stuff, and spend time with my friends and family.
