In May, I had the opportunity to teach art at Rising Leaders Academy, which is a charter school in Panama City, FL. This is my second visit to the school as an artist so a lot of the students saw me and immediately referred to me as “The Artist”. It was very sweet and I really loved working with the kids as they were so respectful and motivated.

This school integrates art into their core curriculum so when a workshop was available for specifically art, there was a lot of enthusiasm in the classroom. This class took place during the regular hours of their Arabic class. Students at RLA take both Arabic and Spanish. I was very happy to see that this is an option in a school that is not faith based. This openness to the language really elevated the status of this town in my eyes.

I grew up in this city and there are a few isolated incidents of hate but for the most part people are kind, there is southern hospitality. This city may not be as diverse as other places I have lived but I do believe that the majority is understanding to different perspectives and different places.

For this assignment, students in grades k through 5th grade wrote their names in Arabic in the center their drawing paper and used zentagle patterns to create an interesting border.

Teacher examples. The Arabic in the center says “Marium”

Zentagle print outs provided on each desk. “Please put the pattern print outs in a pile as you found them.” chaos ensues.

Forgive the upside downness.

A drawing I did during a class period without students. A rad going away card.