My name is Mary Grace Barbee and I am very excited about being your child's art teacher at Jacob's Well Elementary.  I am a certified teacher with a Bachelors and Masters Degree from Texas A&M University. I have many years of teaching experience in the regular classroom as well as the art classroom.  I also enjoy painting professionally. 

I love working with children and fostering creativity.  My goal as a teacher is to pass along all the knowledge and perspective that was given to me as a child. I was fortunate enough to have many family members and teachers that impacted my life.  They provided me with oppourtunities to create and experiment with art, encouraged me to believe in myself, and taught me a few life lessons as well.  One of my favorites that I pass down to students today came from my great-grandmother.  She always told me, "If you make a mistake, there is always a way to make something pretty out of it."  Learning to not give up, and think out of the box, has helped me in so many areas of my life.  I hope that my students will be able to apply it to their lives as well.  

The value of art education is priceless to me.  It encourages students to be original, challenge themselves, think creatively, gain confidence, appreciate perspective, experiment, and learn history. All this while making a big mess and having fun!