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 Instruction

What was your motivation for taking this career path?

I am extroverted and love to be with people, and through teaching I can combine being very social with being creative. I enjoy helping kids discover their own love for new art styles as well as mediums that they didn’t know about before. I get to teach students from Kindergarten to high school, but I spend the majority of my time teaching elementary grades, which I especially enjoy. As an art instructor, you can be a teacher at a school, or you can work for a private art company like I do that specializes in after-school art classes, weekend art events, and art camps. I am proud to bring professional techniques and materials to my students and classes, and I love the variety that teaching adds to my art career!

What do you do on an average day?

Preparation: I teach art at several elementary schools during the school year on different days of the week. Usually I have 4 or 5 classes a day, from grades K-5. I arrive early to school at the beginning of the day to set up the classroom and put out materials. I cut paper into the right sizes for projects, sharpen pencils, and organize other supplies. I usually use the computer to show a PowerPoint lesson with pictures and examples, so I set that up first thing, too.

Teaching: Sometimes I have an art room where the students come for class, but some schools don’t have a separate art room, and I roll a big art cart into each classroom full of supplies and use their space. Each lesson is about an hour long, and I make sure to go step-by-step with everything we draw, paint or sculpt.

Cleaning: Being an art teacher is a lot of cleaning! After every project, I clean paintbrushes, rinse out containers, wipe tables and chairs, and put everything away. But I love taking care of the art supplies, and I think it’s fun to get them ready for the next project.

Sharing: After the school day I collect all the finished, dry projects and return them to the students. Sometimes projects need a last step before they are complete, like clay needing to be fired in a kiln or chalk pastel projects needing to be sprayed outside with a fixative so they don’t smear. Protecting and caring for the artwork is really important, and then each project is ready to go home. I also love to put finished projects up on bulletin boards or in the hallways to showcase the talents of all my students!

How do you express your faith through your art?

Even if I’m not teaching in a faith-based environment- for instance, in public schools- I can share compassion and encouragement with my students. I try to interact positively with each student, find value in them, and show love and acceptance to them the way Jesus would.

Education: Walla Walla University
B.A. in Illustration

Employer: Museo Art Academy, Seattle

Allison Palmer

Art Instructor