Kicking off our teacher spotlight series is Ms. Brie! Happy first anniversary at Slowfire!
Beginning in first grade, Ms. Brie was already making art selling her Penny Art Sales. She would hang her drawings on a clothesline between two trees in her front yard, charging less than a quarter for one of her unique designs. Her kind and generous neighbors encouraged her to continuing displaying her art for the neighborhood to enjoy. Creating art was her happy place and she would often remark she wanted to be an art teacher when she grew up.
This early influence helped inform her laidback teaching style where she sees mistakes as an opportunity to learn from yourself and others. Because everyone has their own approach to art, Ms. Brie believes different perspectives create a dialogue between students to continue learning from each other. There’s no right way to create art.
Another inspiration for Ms. Brie is modern artist, Georgia O’ Keeffe. Ms. Brie was able to take a class highlighting O’ Keeffe’s life and work, from a professor who knew O’ Keeffe personally. In this class, Ms. Brie learned more about how an artist’s life impacts their work and how as life changes so can art. While some of Ms. Brie’s favorite artists are painters, she primarily works in ceramics but also enjoys painting and fiber mediums too.
When making her own art, Ms. Brie likes to problem solve creatively and gives herself permission to make mistakes. She tries to bring this mentality to her classes, so students feel comfortable making their own mistakes and turning them into opportunities. As her first anniversary at Slowfire comes to an end, Ms. Brie “cannot wait for the future!”
To see availability for Ms. Brie’s ceramic classes, click here.
One of Ms. Brie's ceramic pieces.
Ms. Brie working in the studio.
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