Drue Smith is currently a Senior working towards her BFA in Art & Visual Culture Education. Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Drue acquired a passion for art and craft by simply experimenting and playing with materials. Her love for art and the endless possibilities it holds, has carried with her throughout her life. She hopes to teach children to become creative and spontaneous with various materials and mediums and to just have fun. Drue’s studio focus is Photography and Sculpture, although experimental and combined media is her passion which leaves the options of creation, endless! Outside the art studio, Drue loves live music and spending time outdoors and exploring this beautiful world we live in. She can’t wait to teach children the endless options and possibilities art in our world have to offer!
Hello! Ana Favela is senior at the University of Arizona, studying Art Education with a minor in Art History. She is from Tucson, Arizona, and she absolutely loves the sun! She enjoys knitting, drawing, cooking, and watching films on my spare time. Her favorite film is Amelie, my favorite food is pizza, and I love the color red. The artist that has made the most impact on her interest in art is Artemesia Gentileschi. Her main goal for teaching Wildcat Art is to influence our students, allowing them to develop their own interest in art. She hopes that they will continue to take the skills we teach and use them in the future not only as artists, but to apply art to their own personal goals. She excited to teach this semester and hopes to provide our students with a positive environment and appreciation for all arts!
Alexa Winters is an Art and Visual Culture Education Teaching Major at the University of Arizona. She plans to graduate from Arizona in the fall semester of 2012. Her first greatest passion is children, and her second is art. By combining these two, Alexa plans to work as an art educator, particularly in the elementary field. Prior to college, Alexa worked with children in multiple settings, including day-care, personal homes, schoolroom settings and others. Going to the University of Arizona has helped broaden Alexa’s achievements working with children, both in art and educational settings. Alexa spent her fall semester observing an elementary education art classroom in Tucson. She worked closely with a teacher/mentor to understand not only teaching art in a classroom, but also building relationships and gaining experience in the field. After traveling around Europe her junior year-fall semester, it is another passion of Alexa’s to continue to travel the world. It is an ambitious dream of Alexa’s to return to Europe as a certified English teacher and acquire the opportunity to educate those striving to learn English as a second language. Through Alexa’s final years of schooling at the University of Arizona, she hopes to obtain the knowledge and abilities to continue her career as an art educator.
Hayley Mayne is currently a senior at the U of A, working towards her BFA in Art and Visual Culture Education with an emphasis in 2D studio art. She has always had a passion for making artwork, and she absolutely adores working with students, so being an art educator could not be a more fitting career choice for her! As an Arizona native, she has developed a love for the desert, and is fascinated by the beauty of nature as well as her everyday surroundings, which is definitely reflected in her artwork. Although she is very fond of Arizona, she hopes to have the chance to travel and experience more of the world upon graduating, and is very intrigued by the thought of teaching abroad. She is so excited to be a part of the Wildcat Art community this semester, and cannot wait to meet the students and share her excitement and enthusiasm with them!
Heidi Herboldsheimer is currently a graduate student in the Art and Visual Culture Education department and received her Bachelors of Visual Art with an emphasis in graphic design from the University of Northern Colorado. She currently works as a graphic designer as well as a middle school art teacher at Basis Tucson. Her interest in art education stem from an interest in allowing students to learn, engage, wonder, imagine, and find their own connections to the world around them. Outside the classroom, she is very interested in being active in the beautiful outdoors!
Jacob Sullivan is a Tucson native currently pursuing Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in Photography and Art Education at the University of Arizona. A graduate of Canyon Del Oro High School, he was introduced to photography as a junior and has been a passionate enthusiast since. Upon obtaining his degree, he plans not only to explore the potentials of a career in photography, but to share his love for the camera with others as a high school photography teacher. As an instructor, Jacob hopes to pass on to his students the same inspiration that his teachers bestowed in him. He believes that any student can find joy and success in creating art, it is merely a matter of finding out how each individual can uniquely relate to the assignments given. With Wildcat Art, he hopes to present students with an opportunity to explore the medium of analog-process photography before it is a thing the past.
Jeremy Poedel was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona. He spent the last two years attending Concordia University in Irvine, California. He is very happy that he is now attending the U of A. He is interested in extreme sports as well as the arts. He enjoys surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, biking and riding dirt bikes. He really likes to get out and have fun. As far as the arts go, he started playing the drums nine years ago and has loved it ever since. He also enjoys exploring other instruments. He likes to draw, paint and sculpt as well. He also loves film. His education experience consists mainly of work with LCMS world missions in Poland. He has gone the last two years to teach English. The vast majority of the students he worked with did not speak English at all. He is excited to get more classroom experience in my own country!
Born and raised in the concrete downtown city of Indianapolis, Indiana, Jessica Herchenroeder ventured out to the beautiful dessert plains and mountains of Tucson, Arizona in 2006 in hopes of discovering new opportunities for her art, her artistic and educational endeavors, and her ever winding path as an individual. Jessica is currently a junior at the University of Arizona, seeking her BFA in Art and Visual Culture Education, with an emphasis in 3-dimensional artistic practices. Throughout her journey as not only an artistic individual, but one who is passionate about the notion of arts advocacy in the schools and the community as a whole, Jessica has fallen in love with the practice of teaching the arts and elements of visual culture to those around her. Infusing her practice with a unique perspective, knowledgeable techniques, and real-world experiences for her students, Jessica dreams of teaching in a middle school setting, for it is popularly known as the make it or break it moment in the arts for children, the point where they either let it go or decide to pursue it further, and that is exactly where she feels like she could, and should, strive to make the most impact.
Kaixi Xu was born in Beijing, China and came to the United States when she was four years old. After moving from Washington to Minnesota, she finally settled down with her family in Tucson, Arizona in the year 2000. Right now, she is working on her BFA in Art and Visual Culture Education, and is also seeking to expand her studio experience by pursuing a BFA in Studio Art with an emphasis on painting and drawing. Kaixi is currently teaching Chinese to the Kindergarten class at a local Chinese School as well as an art class to kids ages 6-13. In the summer of 2011, she went to Dong Guan, China to teach English to a group of young Chinese children for a period of six weeks. Besides producing art and teaching, Kaixi also loves music, singing, and playing piano for her church and for Life Transforming Foundation, a music foundation. She firmly believes that art is something that can be taught to anyone at any age, and it is something that can teach them how to think critically and analytically. Through the development of art skills and fostering a creative mind, students can understand not only themselves, but the environment around them.
A native Tucsonan, Kasey Stuart is seeking a Master’s degree in Art and Visual Culture Education at The University of Arizona. In 2011, she received her Bachelors of Art History and Arts Management, including a minor in Fine Arts, from The University of San Francisco. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, Kasey worked as a kindergarten art educator at Tucson Country Day School’s summer program. This experience spurred a love for young learners that compelled her to find more teaching opportunities. Continuing with her interest in early childhood education, Kasey interned and taught with a San Francisco non-profit, Root Division. With this program, she taught kindergarten and 1st grade afterschool art programs. Kasey’s experiences in the classroom have taught her that young children have an incredible capacity to learn and that artistic process should be praised rather than mere product. In addition to her passion for introducing children to artistic exploration, Kasey is an avid printmaker, specializing in linoleum prints and dry point etching. She is incredibly excited to participate in Wildcat Art and is anticipating a wonderful experience with an enthusiastic group of students!
Katherine Jones was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona and went through the Flowing Wells School district for her K-12 years. It was at the Junior High that she first got a taste of ceramic art and has been addicted ever sense. She is a senior at the University of Arizona and looks forward to student teaching in the Fall semester of 2012. Katie loves the process of art, the molding and the feeling while making a piece, rather than the product. She feels the process of making and the feeling during the process is the art rather than the end product. Art is an outlet for her life and a way for personal growth to take place. Art has always been a big part of her life and has been fortunate that the people in her life have been supportive of her passion. Katie hopes to one day have a student passionate about art and encourage them just as she was because without creativity there can be nothing.
Kimberly Gay is a long term resident of Tucson, Arizona, who graduated from Canyon del Oro High School in 2006. Immediately after graduating she began working on a degree in the sciences at the University of Arizona; not long after starting the pre-medical program, she reignited her passion for teaching and art, and so decided to pursue a degree in Art and Visual Culture Education. Now in her senior year in the program, she enjoys every day pursuing artistic and educational means through her education and personal development. While her focuses in art are diverse, she enjoys depicting the figure through two-dimensional media; she also explores the psychological and emotional experience in art-making through her art. Kim devotes her time to her one son, Aristeyo, who is nineteen months old, in addition to creating art and going to school. Kim anticipates an exciting semester ahead with Wildcat Art!
Lauren Stahler, a Tucson native, is currently studying Art and Visual Culture Education. Lauren attended Pima Community College for two and a half years and received an associate degree in arts with a concentration in interior design. Lauren has taken on projects related to interior design, including a house renovation project during high school where she organized and managed everything, including raising all of the money for the project through fundraisers and donations. The time Lauren spent studying interior design has influenced her artwork and has sparked an interest in her to teach art, leading her to study at The University of Arizona. Lauren enjoys creating 3-dimensional sculptural artwork in wood, metal and other media, as well as artwork. She also enjoys being around children and loves to watch them learn and explore. Lauren aspires to teach art at an elementary school, and to one day have a family.
Dennis Sanders is currently pursuing his Masters of Fine Arts in Visual Communication, with an emphasis in Illustration, at the University of Arizona’s School of Art. He is also completing his K-12 Arizona Secondary Teaching Certification. In 2002, Dennis received his Bachelors of Fine Arts Degree in Sculpture, with an emphasis in Found Materials, at Colorado State University. During his undergraduate he participated in the clay and metals work study program as well as taught for Ft. Collins Colorado “after school” art programs. Dennis has also taught and coordinated art programs for the Colorado Rocky Mountain School and the Journeys School of Jackson Wyoming. While living in Wyoming he has taught mixed media classes for the Jackson Art Center as well as being a 18 year Certified Mountain Guide for services such as the National Outdoor Leadership School and Jackson Hole Mountain Guides. Dennis enjoys drawing, painting, gardening, rock climbing, biking and traveling with his wife Lauren.
Sophia Mayorga is a senior at the University of Arizona studying art education with a minor in Spanish. She believes the world is nothing with art and it is what helps everyone stay rooted to the Earth. Keeping her native language and customs from her culture is very important to her and an essential thing to do in life. She plans to teach students whose first language is not English or are struggling with English and help them express themselves through art. Sophia believes art is a universal language that everyone understands. I’m completely fascinated by art because of the various components it has, it’s not always about the finished product, it can be about the process, the collaborations and the feelings involved. What I like most about art is that there is no right or wrong answer, art is much more than an answer, it’s everything around us.
Tara Amy is currently working on a BFA in Art and Visual Culture Education. She spent many happy years teaching art to preschool and K-1 students at Satori School while attending Pima College for an associate’s degree in fine arts. Tara believes art can be a powerful tool for learning about identity, the self as well as the identity of the greater community in which we are all a part of. She feels that learning about art teaches people how to think and communicate visually, which gives people a better understanding of their world and a greater connection to it. Tara enjoys working in ceramics and drawing. She also enjoys dance, she dances with a group here in Tucson, Ballet Folklorico La Paloma. She looks forward to performing at the Summer Olympics in London this July! Tara is married and has a wonderful step-son. She is in love with life!
Andrea Burk, a native Tucsonan, is currently pursuing her masters degree in Art and Visual Culture Education. She received a BFA in 2-D studies from the University of Arizona in 2011. Andrea has worked as a teaching artist with the Stories That Soar! bookbinding and illustration program since she helped create art instruction curriculum and a flexible program design in 2008. She has taught art and writing with Sam Hughes Elementary’s Community Schools programs, and she was a teaching assistant in extended day and summer programs at Tucson Community School for three years. Andrea’s daughter, now in sixth grade, will be starting her fourth year in Wildcat Art, and after being a parent in the program she is eager for the opportunity to participate as a teacher.
Shantaye McMorrow is a senior who is currently studying Art Education and History. As a New York native, the Arizona college experience has been different and exciting for her. Although the atmosphere of both places are very different, she appreciated the change of scenery and the fresh Tucson air. Shantaye enjoys teaching and engaging in valuable experiences with her peers and the students she interacts with. Upon graduation, she plans on moving to Boston and hopefully pursuing an MFA in Art History at Tufts. In addition, she continues to pursue her love for painting and enjoys numerous extracurricular activities. Among her favorites include listening to music, cruising on her skateboard, and having good time. As a student of the program she looks forward to learning from the Wildcart Art experience and making some new friends along the way! She hopes that the semester is filled with numerous learning experiences and laughs!
Image Credit: Andrea Burk
2012 Wildcat Art Consultants
Left to Right: Barbara Bergstrom, Becky Shipe, Chelsea Farrar, and Downi Griner
A native of the American Midwest, Barbara Bergstrom, has a BFA from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA in 3-D studies from The University of Arizona. With a background in Education including two additional degrees (B.S. – Vanderbilt University and MEd. – Grand Valley State University), Barbara has taught art for 12 years to students that range in age from Kindergartners to University Graduate Students. As Barbara is currently working toward a PhD in Arts and Visual Culture Education at the University of Arizona, she resides in Oro Valley, Arizona with an art studio at her home.
Becky Shipe teaches art at Los Niños Elementary School in the Sunnyside Unified School District. She is concurrently pursuing a PhD in Art Education at the University of Arizona, which has provided valuable insight and fresh perspectives on the study of visual culture. Prior to teaching, Becky’s passion for art and public service lead her to work as a professional illustrator and a Peace Corps volunteer. She is presently an active member of the University of Arizona’s Peace Corps Fellows Program and the Arizona Art Education Association. Aside from art education, Becky’s interests include traveling, mountain biking, and trail running. She is native to the Midwest, but loves to call the Arizona desert home.
Chelsea Farrar is a native of Denver, Co but has called Tucson home for 12 years. A graduate of the AVCE program at the University of Arizona, she received her BFA in 2004. Since graduating, she taught studio art, AP art history and technical theater at Amphitheater High School, here in Tucson, AZ. She is currently an MA student in the AVCE program pursuing her education in museum education studies. She is interested in how learning in the art museum setting could impact literacy in the core classes such as english and history. Chelsea would like to still consider herself a painter, even through teaching and the acts of being a student often interfere with her time to paint. She is very excited to return to Wildcat Art and work with a talented group of undergraduates and graduate students!
