Wyoming Arts Council

National Arts in Education Week, Teacher Profile: Jennifer Emery


I have taken a number of professional artists into Jennifer’s classes for residencies. She is always open to such activities, planning well in advance to ensure her students are able to take full advantage of such opportunities. In the classroom I see her encourage her students and bring out the best in them.

On one such residency she had all of our middle school students work on a large mural depicting our local area. This mural now hangs proudly in the middle school. She is also an accomplished artist herself and participates in and supports the monthly Artstrolls in downtown Thermopolis.

–Jacky Wright, Hot Springs Greater Learning Foundation

arts-ed-week-mural

Jennifer’s teaching philosophy:

“Art is about our human response to the world around us.  Art class encourages kids to explore their imaginations and make connections between art and their everyday life. Through the study of applied technique, basic art elements and principles, art history, exploration, and play, art education teaches 21st Century skills needed to be a creative thinker no matter one’s future occupation.

emery-jennifer-224x300My goal as an art educator is to provide an environment that encourages learning through discovery.  Providing a safe, engaged, supported, and challenging classroom is very important to me.  Following a curriculum that supports the framework of the 8 Studio Habits of Mind methodology, empowers students to articulate what they are learning and makes learning connections on a deeper and more meaningful level.

I believe Art education is so much more than just drawing and painting; it is learning to think creatively.  It provides the opportunity for kids to learn how to process like a creative person in order to reach a goal.  It also gives students tools to express themselves and to convey personal meaning through artwork. Creative thinking is a skill that will prove useful for the rest of their life.  Whether they choose to be an architect, preschool teacher, artist, fashion designer, or lawyer, creative thinking teaches ways of looking at problems or situations from a fresh perspective that suggests unusual solutions.

Art education teaches children that problems can have more than one solution and questions can have more than one answer.  I believe art class does not exist to produce artists, rather it celebrates that there are many ways to see and interpret the world around us.”


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