Arrowmont’s 2022 Bill Griffith Art Educator Fellow, Jean Benoit, is currently on campus for her summer fellowship. At the start of the month, she enjoyed a two-week session mixed-media and ceramics mold-making workshop with Bobby Tso. This week, she participates in Arrowmont’s Legacy Program for K-12 art educators as a student in Tina Curry’s Creative Animal Sculpture workshop.“The opportunity to study with top notch professionals has been amazing. As a teacher, your focus is intently on your students growth and success; your own is secondary.
These weeks at Arrowmont have given me the opportunity to challenge myself within a very supportive community.
Even though my classmates far exceeded my own skill level, they generously shared all the tips and hacks they had individually acquired over the years. I think my most favorite part of this adventure has been the conversations on everything art and education related—they’ve been an invaluable glimpse into how other professionals organize, motivate, and thrive. This adventure has been one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever been graced with!” – Jean Benoit
Jean Benoit has worked for 25 years as a professional, primarily high school, educator of history, music, and art. She currently teaches visual arts and ceramics at St. Patrick Catholic High School in Biloxi, Mississippi. In addition to teaching high school students, Jean instructs continuing education workshops for adults in painting, basket weaving, and ceramics. She is a ceramic studio assistant and an instructor at the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi.
