Meet Art Educator Laura Rice!

STMA is excited to host Laura Rice, one of two winners of The Charlie Boner Award for the Advancement of Art Education for Founder’s Day 2024!

Laura became an art teacher when her three children were small because most of her study was in the Visual Fine Arts, and she felt teaching art was the perfect way to use these skills in combination with her interest in preparing children for their future. She believes Morgan County is a wonderful place to teach art because the children are bright and curious, and the community values and supports the arts.

For several years, Laura collaborated with the MCCSS art teachers to curate and hang student artwork in the Steffen Thomas Museum of Art’s “Georgia in Bloom” exhibits. She brought the entire 4th grade on field trips to STMA for the full museum experience of respectfully viewing important art pieces, learning about the artist and his work, and creating an artwork inspired by Steffen Thomas.

She is passionate about the role of art education in developing the 21st century skills of creativity, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking in students through their exposure to engaging activities using a variety of media. Planning lessons, helping each student realize their artistic ideas, and exhibiting their wonderful artwork was so satisfying for Laura!

In 2022, Laura retired from Morgan County Elementary School after almost 30 years of teaching art! She looks forward to shifting her energies to think about developing her own art in retirement as a lifelong learner.