
MESILLA CAMILLE SMITH
FINE ARTIST & ARTS EDUCATOR

Hello! Welcome to my portfolio! I am a DePaul University graduate with a MEd degree in Secondary Education. As a licensed arts educator for K-12th grade students, I hope to implement an integrated arts curriculum that will provide the necessary tools to build, improve, and strengthen communities. Foundational skills in the arts have the power to get important messages out and to bring people together. Some of these tools include critical thinking, problem solving, and learning to collaborate with others. All of which help to strengthen self awareness, self identity, and self respect through creative expression and joy. I will always advocate for the arts in the school curriculum and in my community, because it will benefit the future of all community members.
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Here you will find samples of teaching and learning in the arts, as well as images of my professional work as a practicing artist.
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Inspirational Quote
“The artist who paints the emotions creates an enclosed world... the picture... which, like a book, has the same interest no matter where it happens to be. Such an artist, we may imagine, spends a great deal of time doing nothing but looking, both around him and inside him.” –Pierre Bonnard
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TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
ART EDUCATION
The pursuit of happiness is something all people, I imagine, would like to achieve, especially in the United States. My teaching philosophy reflects almost entirely on this matter. I value all human beings’ rights and believe the most important of those is the pursuit of happiness amongst a democratic society. As a professional artist in the education setting, I want to encompass many various academic subjects in my visual arts class to incorporate constructivist instruction. Constructivist methods allow my students to learn from their experiences. My practice is holistic and pragmatic in providing an outlet of expression for my students. While promoting creative expression and teaching technical skill, I hope to build a strong and reliable curriculum with my students’ needs in mind that will make a lasting impression within my school.
I am passionate about keeping the tradition and technical skill of the arts alive, because it is an important force within all of human history and development. It is the reason we have civilization today, but I’m even more passionate about sharing ideas and promoting creativity and self expression. It is important for adolescents to identify with their past and present in order to build their own future identity and place in the world. By providing elements of a collective past history and modern concerns in the learning environment of my art classroom, my teaching will be conducive to proactive and prosocial interactions. My students will gain the confidence to stand up for what they believe in, mutually respect social differences amongst their peers, and ultimately build high self esteem to live their best life.