I was born and raised in South Central Montana, which gives me the distinction of being an actual “Montana Native.”  Many people come from all over the country to experience our “western” lifestyle but we lived that on a daily basis.  My family ranched in the area long before I came along so I was fortunate to have opportunities that many people now spend great sums of money to experience.  I think that you will see that western influence in many of my designs

Growing up I divided my time between wanting to be a teacher or a famous artist, since the “famous” didn’t seem to be forthcoming it’s a good thing that I chose to become an artist and a teacher.   I come from a long line of very creative people, my father is a sculpture and my mother is a very talented seamstress and loves to do needlework.  My family fostered in me a love for art and creative expression that I try to impart onto my students today.

To learn more about Christy, click on her bio link below....

Teacher Tips for the Art Specialist or the Classroom Teacher:

1. Preparation and organization is the key to good discipline in the classroom and will allow for a smooth transition into the project. 
   1. Have your materials well prepped and the project guidelines well thought out prior to beginning your project.
   2. Have all the necessary tools and equipment out and easily accessible to your students.  If your schedule allows have all the materials set up at the work area prior to the class period.
   3. If your schedule doesn’t allow set-up prior to the students entering the classroom have all the materials easily assessable and train your student to follow a set-up protocol.
       
2. Develop a good consistent discipline plan early on in the year so that students know exactly what your expectations and requirements are for each class session.
    
3. When brushes wear out and are no longer working effectively cut the bristle shorter and use them as a stipple/dry brush, this will allow for the longer life of a brush. 
    
4. Many young children do not have the fine motor skills to use a fine liner brush or a small round brush but can easily use a toothpick and achieve similar results for small detail work. 
    
5. Using the National Standards and your State Standards as your guide to develop appropriate curricular projects. 
    
6. Developing projects that incorporate a wide variety of materials should allow your students to experience a wide variety of media opportunities. 
    
7. Keep an open dialogue with the classroom teacher and incorporate the regular curriculum into your project plan as often as you can.  This allows for an authentic art experience that builds on the child’s prior knowledge and curricular expectations.  In this day and age of testing regimen and increasing classroom academic expectations art teachers can assist the classroom teacher, this will develop an important professional relationship and makes your art program more visible as an integral part of the total program. 
    
8. Whenever possible display your student’s artwork in the hallway, classrooms, and out in the community.  The general public love to see kid’s art and this makes your program visible to the community.  Quite often local banks are happy to allow you to set up a display of children’s art work and some have even built entire areas for display purposes.  This is good for your students but also increases traffic and visibility for the businesses in the community.