Crystal Ward, Lee’s Summit,
Mo., teaches elementary art in the Olathe, Kan. School District.
Ward says her pupils offer new ideas to her own art perceptions.
Her main art is watercolor, but Ward dabbles in acrylics and
jewelry making with her sisters as part of the fine arts company
Sisters Three.
“For me, watercolor is the medium that translates well to a home studio,” she
says. “I realized that I could manipulate the mixture of water, paint and
me as I create large abstracts.”
As
a child, Ward struggled some with the traditional curriculum, but if art got
linked to science or math, she enjoyed the lesson.
“I try to do something similar with my students too,” she says.
Ward did not take a watercolor class until her last semester in college.
“When I decided I wanted to teach, I knew I had to keep up with my personal
art,” she says.
Ward says she is just beginning her path as an artist. She wants to have more
art included in exhibits.
“I want the kids know there is more to art than crafts,” she says.
