Bio
I love to create art in many mediums - watercolors, pastels, acrylics, collage, small sculptures, mixed media projects and murals as well as large scale public art works in my community. While I always drew my heart out as a kid, I didn't take up painting till I was an adult - and I have never stopped. My art has received numerous awards and appears in many collections. I am a juried member of the Kentucky Guild of Artists and Craftsmen, a juried artist with the Kentucky Crafted program and have been a Teaching Artist since 2000 with the KAC, Arts for All KY (formerly VSA of KY) and The Tennessee Arts Commission.
I have completed many long and short art residencies across KY and TN with students at all grade levels as well as alternative schools, juvenile justice centers, with special needs students and in libraries and summer art programs with children and adults alike, as well as providing Professional Development sessions for teachers and administrators.
Using innovative hands-on art projects, I find joy in leading students on a journey to discover their own artistic abilities while developing an appreciation for the creation of art.
Try some of my free virtual learning content at the Teaching Art Apart Library!
Potential Residency Project
Designing and Painting a Mural
Grade Levels 4th grade and up:
Students are shown the work of several mural artists and learn how an artist takes an idea and visually expresses it. Students are lead through developing a theme, creating sketches and collaborating and combining ideas and drawings into a cohesive design. They learn how to enlarge drawings on site and then draw and paint the finished design alongside a professional mural artist to complete the artwork.
Drawing and Painting with Watercolors
Grade Levels: 6th grade and up
Drawing techniques are reviewed with warm-ups and exercises then students create drawings and paintings. Projects can include, seasons of the year (can be tied to poetry), works inspired by famous artists; abstract and realistic paintings, architecture from their own community, or students can work from a large selection of images the artist provides.
3-D - Small Sculptures
Grade Levels: 4th grade and up
Using air-dry clay, we can pair any subject with this material and process. For example: Biomes... students illustrate environments they study using a collage or drawn background and create bas-relief sculptures of animals and plants; Geography...drawing out maps and adding bas-relief architecture or portraits specific to countries or places; Art... they can look at sculptures from many artists and create their own small sculpture inspired by those works. Writing assignments can be included.
Expressive Self-Portraits – Me, Myself and I
Grade Levels: 6th grade and up.
After looking at and discussing self-portraits by famous artists, photos are taken of each student and printed out in small size. Students learn how to grid the photo and transfer it to a larger sheet. They choose a color scheme and proceed to paint their own self-portrait. A border can be filled in with words, poems, song lyrics and collage images to complete the story of themselves. Alternative – this can be a collage project as students learn to fill in their portrait with small mosaic pieces of paper and other materials.
Using Your Visual Voice – Collage and Paper Arts
Grade Levels: 4th grade and up
Students are introduced to several collage artists and shown examples of their work. Any subject can be explored including history, cultures, favorite artists, social issues, landscapes and faces (realistic or abstract). This project has wide appeal for all ages and abilities. This can be a recycling project using magazines, newsprint, discarded books and other collected materials. Writing assignments are included.
Keeping a Nature Journal – Observing the World Around Us
Grade Levels: 4th grade and up
We create “journals” and students are instructed in basic drawing techniques and examples before we go outside to observe, record and enjoy the world around us using their notebooks and colored pencils to sketch and write. Can connect to earth science, language arts, visual arts, math, social studies and more.