Welcome to Ms. Smith's Art Class- home of creativity, self expression and exploration! Art class is a place where students can truly be themselves, without fear of judgement. We not only accept our differences, we celebrate them. Each student is encouraged to bring their own perspective or view point to their artwork. These values are important to Ms. Smith because she is, first and foremost, an artist herself. Ever since she could hold a paintbrush, she's been painting, drawing and creating. She studied General Fine Arts in Baltimore at the Maryland Institute College of Art, where she also got her Masters Degree in Art Education. She has had the privilage of teaching at Davenport A+ School since graduating college in 2005. Davenport A+ is a dream job for an art educator, a place where the arts are at the core of the educational philosophy. It is very important to Ms. Smith that she leads by example, as a practicing/exhibiting artist herself. She currently has drawings and paintings on display in Boone, NC. She also works as a photographer/reporter for ArtsNow.NC, covering art events and individual artist features throughout western North Carolina. She is also a board member and judge for the Boone Film Festival and the Artistic Director for the Caldwell County Democratic Party. Along with art, Ms. Smith is extremely passionate about travel. Exploring other landscapes and cultures serves as an inspiration for her own artwork as well as multi-cultural instructional units. Some of the places Ms. Smith has traveled to include France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Portugal, England, Greece, Mexico and Costa Rica. But as much as she loves to travel, she loves calling the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina home. Thank you for stopping by, come visit the Davenport Art Class any time to see smiling faces and messy hands!