PeanutButterPie is the nick name we gifted to the biggest of our small ones, when she was just days old it was Peanut, then in our sleep deprived goofyness it morphed into Peanut Butter. Soon after and likely after a long night of no sleep Pie was added to the mix. It suited her and we've been using any one of the versions listed above and other variations ever sice, When I started creating art and charming things to sell I chose Peanut Butter Pie for a shop name and the name I put on my hand made items. I have a BFA from Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design (now Emily Carr University) My major was Photography but I also focused on printmaking, drawing and painting during my education and pursued those interests after school. I sold art supplies for a few years after graduating and learned book loads of useful information about materials and techniques that I make use of in my art making and instructing practices. I began teaching art in 2013 to school aged children, preschoolers and toddlers. I've since added Adult classes and workshops to the mix and have taught art to Autistic and Down Syndrome groups.
Teaching art to children is largely a matter of giving them the tools and the materials to do what comes naturally. I create my classes to allow for that freedom while directing my students towards deeper exploration and (for my older students) better application and skill level. I'm always amazed and inspired by what the youngest of my students do in my classes. For me teaching art is a part of my own art making process. Teaching art to adults is a whole other ball of rubber bands. We forget as adults how much fun it is to make messes play with colour and glue things together. Giving students and participants the tools and the confidence to dive in and explore is exciting and fullfilling. It feeds my creativity and allows me to push my art into unexpected and interesting places.
A few things about me that aren't art or art education related.
I'm a beeginner beekeeper. Knock on wood I've only been stung twice
I'm a raging introvert. (This means I can often be found making loud and uncomfortable silences at parties and large gatherings)
If I want to sleep at night I stop drinking coffee before 10am. I dressed my smallest human up as a Neil Gaiman and Adam Rex book character for Halloween two years ago. Both Mr. Rex and Mr Gaiman retweeted her photo. Mr Gaiman used all caps. I will forever be in a state of fan girl excitement over those two retweets.
Both of my children are named for characters of Shakespeare plays as either first or middle names. Both were also given nick names that are confectionary in nature. Only one of those names and its variations stuck past toddlerhood the other answers to a shortened variation of her first name.