Art teachers are creative and talented professionals who teach students of all ages drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, ceramics, and printmaking skills and techniques. In secondary school, they might also teach art history.

Career:Art Education

What was your motivation for taking this career path?

During my 8th grade year, I started experimenting with chalk pastels left to me by my grandfather. I discovered a natural affinity and love of creating and color. I then had two wonderful art teachers in high school at Gem State Adventist Academy who further challenged me and helped me grow as an artist. As I approached college, it was a natural choice to become a teacher in that I love school, reading, writing, and drawing, painting, and creating. On my first visit to BSU as I was wandering down the art hall, a head professor of the Art department stopped me and further convinced me to go into both Art and English. He became a lifelong mentor; I visited him at the Oregon coast this summer.

What do you do on an average day?

As we are surrounded by art and communication every day, everywhere, my passions are filled even viewing a beautiful sunrise. As a teacher, it is so wonderful to not only teach my Art and English high school classes (at my alma mater), which also include two college level art courses, all the basics of learning to draw, paint, and create, but also to really see what is all around them. We experiment with all sorts of medium and subject matter. This summer I entered my first gallery showcasing my watercolor paintings.

How do you express your faith through your art?

As my students learn to see with new eyes, God becomes even more real and personal. The art of nature is breathtaking, awe inspiring, and just so interesting. The looks of wonder on students’ faces when they produce something they never thought possible or when they share how the light filtered through the leaves laying an intricate pattern on the ground. What we choose for subject matter always opens dialogue about how what we put into our minds matters on all levels—especially visually. God is truly the master artist.

Education: Boise State University
M.A. in Art Education, B.F.A. Minor in English.

Employer: Gem State Adventist Academy

Kimberley Mitchell

Art Teacher