Tell us about your wonderful outfit. Like every outfit, my goal is to radiate color. Wearing flowers in my hair makes me feel young and free, while the cheer clip is my reminder of the smiles I love to see in my classroom. Color makes me feel confident.
What first sparked your love for both fashion and art? My 19-year-old daughter, Blondie, has always been my first inspiration for my fashion style. She used to dress so spontaneously and never gave a care for what anyone thought. While in college, I did a project where I documented the outfits my two kids would pick out for me. I did not influence their decisions in any way other than perhaps for layered warmth. I learned so much about myself and my kids through this project. Mainly, I learned that Blondie dressed herself based upon each item she wanted to wear. She didn’t give any thought to whether they matched or made sense. That free-spirited style is exactly what I love most. In my mind art and fashion are one. Art is the overall umbrella if you will and fashion, music, fine art, and graffiti are all the prongs of that umbrella. Art is expression. Fashion is expression. Art is communication. Fashion is communication. Art is welcoming. Fashion welcomes. I love this world.
Who is your biggest influence? Iris Apfel is my gal. Her vivacious, unwavering confidence is where I found my courage to be bold, be me. And, of course, my Blondie girl.
Have your students ever inspired your wardrobe choices? Nearly daily. My students are my ‘why.’ During Covid I couldn’t see their smiles. It was awful. I needed to know that behind those little masks they were smiling. That’s how the big shift began. I decided was going to make a new handmade hairpiece to wear for each school day. They were crazy. One day it was a dragon, another it was a headband of flowers and some days I wear feathers in my hair. The excitement rose. I knew they were smiling because their faces lit up. Even covered by a mask, you could tell.
Your days are filled with paint, glitter, glue, and more messy materials. How do you balance practicality with professionalism and style? I take extreme pride in being a mobile display of my students’ creativity when my clothes are decorated with their pizazz!
Did you ever come up with a classroom project connected to fashion, like a runway show or wearable art? A classroom favorite is fashion design. I have a collection of scrap fabrics of a variety of materials and shapes and sizes that they use to create outfits for armatures. They use ribbon to tie the ‘clothing’ on. They absolutely love this. They almost always are getting ready for a wedding, fashion show or a good ol’ zombie attack.
Do you see fashion as another form of art your students can connect to? Absolutely. Fashion is a reflection of who we are. I’d like to believe that I give students the okay to be creative, bold, and different with confidence and grace.
If you were asked to design an elementary-school art teacher uniform, what would it look like? Hmmm. Perhaps a jumpsuit similar to those worn in an auto body shop, only way better. Think pockets for everything! Pockets for Bandaids and tissues and slots for pencils, scissors, a glue stick, and don’t forget a snap flap for a trusty roll of duct tape.
Favorite Crayola crayon color? Orange. Keep it real, Crayola. I’d love Crayola to have a box just for elementary schools with primary, secondary, and tertiary colors only, all wearing their real names.
Where do you like to shop locally for clothes? Goodwill is a must. I also love Broad Ripple Vintage, Thrifty Threads, and Amanda’s Exchange. And I’m a huge flea market and garage sale fan.
