Why upside down?
Sometimes things feel upside down...
In 2020, the world felt like it had been turned upside down. As a public school art teacher, I needed to engage my students long distance and keep my own kids, and myself, from feeling the weight of the world. We did art lessons at home together and posted our videos on You Tube for my students. This was the beginning of the Upside Down Art Studio. The world may be back to "normal" now, but there are times that we all still feel upside down, for all different kinds of reasons. For so many years, I had felt a calling to create a space devoted to making art that I could share with others. Upside Down Art Studio is a space to take a pause from the world and take time to do something that feels good in your soul. I hope you will enjoy spending time creating here as much as I do!
Upside Down has come to mean different things for me. I enjoy spending time near the water whenever I can. When I see the reflections on the water of the sky, the sun, the trees, the seagulls... it's all upside down, almost like a reflection of another realm. At certain times, the light and atmosphere cause the horizon to blur to the point there is barely a distinction between water and sky. For me, this is a surreal experience, it is as if two worlds are one. The shore has always felt like a place where my soul is replenished and I get silent answers to questions I don't have to even ask. In this blur between reality and reflection, natural and supernatural, I find peace.
Upside down has also come to represent a period of becoming ready, a kind of gestation. When a baby is ready to be born they lie upside down in the womb, they are getting ready for a new beginning. When our lives are in a state of change they can feel turned upside down, too. The shift in direction is preparing us for what is next. I've come to realize that embracing the shift and allowing myself to be turned upside down is part of the process of growth. And just like birth, it has joy and it has pain.
I have been a public school art teacher for 24 years at Durling Middle School in the Clearview School District in Lorain, Ohio where I have taught multiple age groups since August 2000. I currently teach grades 5-8 and have been teaching this age group for the majority of my career. Most days inside a middle school can turn upside down, sideways, backwards and inside out! You have to go with the flow and always expect things to shift. I have also been an art instructor for the Beck Center for the Arts in Lakewood, Ohio and for Young Audiences of Greater Cleveland, and taught summer art therapy camps in Elyria and Lorain. I worked at Corso's Flower and Garden Center in Sandusky for 10 years where I was a floral designer and organized a garden club for kids. I completed my student teaching in the Sandusky City School District. I hold a Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Studies with concentrations in art, psychology and sociology, a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Art, with a major in painting and art education, and a Master's Degree in Curriculum and Instruction, all from Bowling Green State University. I hold a current teaching license in the state of Ohio in Visual Arts k-12.
My husband, 3 creative kids, multiple pets and I live in Huron, Ohio, where we enjoy summers by the lake and at Cedar Point. In the winters we enjoy hibernating and escaping to Florida and Disney World. My husband enjoys telling dad jokes where ever we go...
