Hello, my name is Mary Clare and I am the 11th child in a family of 11 children by my mother Lilyan and father Norman Johnson. My father had already passed away by the time this studio photograph was taken, but that is my mother in the center. No, that is not a real gun, it was a studio prop to create the look of an old western photo. I am the one in the baby doll hat to the far left of your screen. My mom was a fantastically talented, strong, intelligent, and beautiful woman. I miss her deeply.
I am married with three children of my own. No, I had no delusions of trying to have 11 children of my own! Yikes, I don't know how my mom and dad did that, but they sure handled it beautifully. In the summer time, I am either taking graduate classes, building patios and landscaping at home, creating my own artwork, or illustrating books for authors that hire me to do so. Of course, I also try to spend extra time with my family since the rest of the year is so incredibly busy when I am at school 10 hours a day. We don't travel very often, but I love being outdoors.
I am an artist and have been all of my life. My part time job is as a professional artist and my work has been featured in
museums, galleries, private homes, and many art shows over the years. I started my teaching career teaching Art and did so for 26 years here in Kent City from Young Fives to 8th grade. I made the switch over to teaching in the regular classroom setting in 2009. The transition could have been a tension filled move, but it has been an exhilirating experience and extension from what I was already doing, so I have loved the change. I was teaching the right side of the brain along with some of the left, now I am teaching the left side along with some of the right. Learning, teaching, experiencing, growing, laughing, confidence building, and more learning. It's all good!
Please consider stopping by my artwork website to see what I do when I am not teaching. My other website is:
www.maryclaresartwork.com
Here are a few samples of works of art I created...
I am married with three children of my own. No, I had no delusions of trying to have 11 children of my own! Yikes, I don't know how my mom and dad did that, but they sure handled it beautifully. In the summer time, I am either taking graduate classes, building patios and landscaping at home, creating my own artwork, or illustrating books for authors that hire me to do so. Of course, I also try to spend extra time with my family since the rest of the year is so incredibly busy when I am at school 10 hours a day. We don't travel very often, but I love being outdoors.
I am an artist and have been all of my life. My part time job is as a professional artist and my work has been featured in
museums, galleries, private homes, and many art shows over the years. I started my teaching career teaching Art and did so for 26 years here in Kent City from Young Fives to 8th grade. I made the switch over to teaching in the regular classroom setting in 2009. The transition could have been a tension filled move, but it has been an exhilirating experience and extension from what I was already doing, so I have loved the change. I was teaching the right side of the brain along with some of the left, now I am teaching the left side along with some of the right. Learning, teaching, experiencing, growing, laughing, confidence building, and more learning. It's all good!
Please consider stopping by my artwork website to see what I do when I am not teaching. My other website is:
www.maryclaresartwork.com
Here are a few samples of works of art I created...