We are so grateful to have so many new amazing teachers here at Newman this year. Newman’s teachers make Newman such a special and inviting place for all students and make students feel compelled to learn. In this edition, we will highlight one of the new art teachers here at Newman, Ms Weisman. Ms Weisman teaches many art classes here at Newman: Intro to 3D Design, Advanced Studio Art, Advanced and Begginer Ceramics, and Drawing and Painting. In addition to her classes, Ms Weisman has proven to be a dedicated advisor and mentor and promotes creativity in and out of the classroom. In an interview with Ms. Weisman I had the pleasure of getting to know her better and here are the responses she gave. 

• Where did you grow up?

“I grew up in Michigan outside Detroit in a suburb called Sterling Heights”

• What were you doing before you came to Newman?

“I was at NOMA as an education specialist, writing curriculum for pre-k through 6th”

• What’s your favorite book you’ve ever read?

“‘I know this much is true” by Willi Wam. I just love him as a writer, he is kind of physiological and I like trying to understand the human condition because it’s like a window. My favorite line is probably when the character says he’s a mausoleum in someone’s life, and I don’t want to be that so it’s interesting.”

• What’s your favorite thing about Newman?

“I like the ceramics lab a lot, I like making things with students, and my favorite part of my day is being creative with them.”

• What was your favorite class in high school?

“My favorite class in high school was forensics. It was kind of like speech and debate, not like science forensics. I liked biology, probably because I liked the teacher.”

• What is something you’re very passionate about?

“Making art and looking at art and talking with people about art, drawing, I love drawing.”

• What motivates you in your personal and professional life?

“I guess my motivation is always about figuring something out, like solving a problem. I guess that’s why I like teaching art, I like the complexity of solving different things. That even applies to relationships. Either visual problems or communication problems, fixing things.”

• How do you like to spend your free time or unwind after a busy day?

“I like cooking food, being really purposeful about it, cooking bread or different recipes. I like doing that with my family and being very intentional about it.  I like going to museums or being outside at a park, making art,  sometimes I spend evenings drawing or reading or creating a pot on the wheel.”

• What’s a project or accomplishment you’re particularly proud of?

“Well, I’ve had several exhibitions that solidified my artwork, a little fun fact I have an art piece in “The perks of being a wallflower, in the Christmas scene above the altar. I had an exhibition in Pittsburg, and I guess the director had a connection with them. Or accomplishing my degree, you know.”

• What is something on your bucket list that you want to accomplish?

“I have a big bucket list, I want to road with my kids to Yosemite and camp there, I would like to go to Spain, Barcelona, and Alaska, I’d like to go learn how to build boats.”

• Who has been a major influence or mentor in your life, and why?

“It’s hard, there’s a lot of different people I could think of. When I was a kid my best friend took me on trips, her name was Kim Lenex and her family shaped my sense of how you can build community outside of your given family. In high school, I was a cheerleader, and my cheer coach would help me raise money for uniforms. In Michigan, we would sell cans, and she would help me. In Undergrad Joanna Poss was my printing director, she believed in me and she let me live in the print shop and also with some other teachers in undergrad. You can sum that all up with belonging, and people making me feel like  I belonged”

We hope this allows you to get to know Ms. Weisman a bit better, and we are so excited to get to know her even more as she teaches at Newman.