About Me

To say that I've had the mindset of a teacher my whole life would be an exaggeration, but only slightly. Some of my earliest memories are of lining my stuffed animals up in rows and teaching them whatever I learned that day. I can't remember a time when I didn't love teaching my siblings, friends, neighbors, or anyone else that would listen.  



Similarly, art and design have always been part of my life. I got my BFA in Graphic Design but upon graduation, I found that I missed academics. I missed being in a classroom. I knew that I had to combine my passions and get my teaching license. As soon as I taught my first lesson as a student teacher, I knew I'd made the right choice. I love making my own art, but I love sharing my knowledge even more. 

My Educational Philosophy 

I believe that art education should teach problem solving and creativity every bit as much as artistic skills. As such, I run my classroom with as much autonomity as is possible and appropriate for the grade level. This can be as simple as assigning a project but leaving the materials open to free choice or assigning a material but leaving the subject open-ended. 

I believe that art is about more than art. Writing, math, science, and social studies are not something that should be integrated into art, but rather something that is and has been integrated in art from the beginning. It's not a struggle to integrate other subjects into art; it would make no sense to study Faith Ringgold and make story quilts without also writing stories to go along with them. To study color without studying the science of the color spectrum leaves unanswered questions. Art doesn't have to integrate other areas; art is present in almost every part of our lives and educational experiences.



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