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Moved to Clinton, NY
In the second grade I moved to Clinton, NY. I don't remember much before this time. I moved around a lot when I was younger with my mom, so I believe that when I settled down with my father I had a chance to create -
Introduced to Mrs.Hall
When I started at Clinton Elementary School I met my art teacher, Mrs. Hall. Mrs. Hall sticks out in my memory because she had such a warm heart, and made sure that all of her students were happy. Even after elementary school I kept in touch with Mrs. Hall, and later shadowed her on our student career day. It was also her class that I remember my first art project, a ceramic turtle bowl (image above is not mine). -
Art as a refuge
In the winter of 2003, my paternal grandmother had a heart attack and spent much time in the hospital. My family flew in from all over the country and the chaos was sometimes overwhelming. I used art to espace. This is a picture I painted of my fathers siblings (at no point did my family live on a farm) -
Kalyn starts photography
When I was in middle school, my sister began her first photography class, which she would often have me model for Although I always liked art, I aspired to be like my sister so my interest grew when I saw her involvemement. I was determined to follow in her foosteps as soon as I entered high school, but first I would have to take a studio course. -
Clinton High School
I initially signed up for a studio course in high school as a prerequisite to photography, but by the time I entered the 9th grade they had closed down the darkroom and expanded the digital art lab. I realized this year that I enjoy working hands on and would never really get the knack for computer art. -
Senior Year-Found my calling
Senior year of high school was a bumpy ride. I had a falling out with my close group of friends, and I used AP art as a way to distract myself. But, it turns out that this was the best thing that could have happened to me. With more time on my hands I could really explore, and I also realized how therapeutic being alone with a canvas could be. At this point I realized that I wanted to inspire my own students someday, and give them the outlet that I had found. -
Freshman at Oneonta
I entered college with the ego of any 18 year old sheltered girl. I thought I knew everything there was to know about art. Clearly I was wrong. This year I was introduced to new forms of art, as well as Women's Studiies. -
Found my medium
My sophomore year I completely fell in love with painting. All of my other obligations went to the back burner and every free moment was spent in the studio. I knew that in the far future I wanted to be an art teacher, but in the moment I was only thinking about two things: what song was playing on my iPod and what I was going to paint next. -
::Mind Explodes::
Junior year was my year of exploration. Printmaking, ceramics, artist books, design, things that I never knew existed. Taking four studio courses in one semester was possibly the most stressful time of my life, but it opened my eyes to all of the opportunity. For both myself and my future students. -
Senior Year
Senior year of college was when teaching became personal. Once again, I was feeling isolated. I was counting down the days until I could move to Florida. I had little responsibility in school other than my art internship so all of my spare time was spent in the studio. Painting once again became my passion, and I was determined to soak in as much knowledge as possible before graduation. Looking back I realize that I have a lot more to teach my students than having art as an emotional outlet. -
Moved to Florida
My second semester of senior year I moved to Florida. Here I was introduced to teaching in a preschool setting. This solidified my dream of becoming an art teacher, and gave me hands on experience. But, with my time taken teaching I had little time for myself. I would craft occasionally but haven't picked up a paintbrush until recently. Also, althought I would do daily projects with my students, they were never symbolic or were a projection of my students creativity. -
University of Florida
In May of last year I started at UF. With this extra workload i've had even less time to work on my own art, but i've learned a lot. My experience in my own classroom has taught me classroom management, but my online classes have taught me how to shape my curriculum for my students. -
Seminole Science- It all begins
This past August I started as an elementary teacher. I have never been more busy, and I have never been more happy. As each month goes by, and with each grad school class under my belt, I feel more confident in the classroom. I am finally beginning to write lesson plans that I think will stick with my students throughout their life and I'm excited to see what is in store for us. But, with all of this going on, I still did not have much time to be an artist. -
Finding myself
With my first full semester of both grad school and teaching under my belt, i'm trying to find some more time for myself. I am reaching my career goals, and it is now to reach my personal goals. I think that in order to keep my passion alive as a teacher, I need to learn about art on my own as well.
