(Watercolor portrait of me by Lesya Malokhmetova)
Picture

Hello!  I am Annie Monaghan, lover of the arts.

I am a Michigan native, currently living in Cleveland, OH.

When I was about 8 years old, I recall being on a car ride with my family.  I expressed to my mom that "When I grow up, I either want to be an artist or a teacher!" She kindly replied "Why not be both? You can be an art teacher!" And ever since that day more than 30 years ago, I have been pursuing my dream of becoming just that, an art teacher.  

After finishing my Bachelor of Arts with a K-12 teaching certificate at UNCA in May of 2014, I finally have the official title of "ART TEACHER!"

I started my career teaching PK-5 Art for six years at Carolina Day School in Asheville, NC and have been teaching at Hawken Middle School in Lyndhurst, OH for the last five years. 

I believe that art creation is a wonderful activity that can foster students' understanding of ideas, build their self-esteem, and help them to be unique, expressive individuals.  I teach in a way that merges art history, creative problem solving, interdisciplinary studies and integration of 21st century skills to help students to become confident, thoughtful, and creative characters.

I also currently hold the role of 7th-Grade Student Life Dean at Hawken School.  I help cultivate a positive culture in my school, as well as lead both faculty and student group meetings, plan events, and help students navigate difficult situations.  In this position, I am a leader of the community and have a lot of contact with students and their families to support meaningful growth behaviorally, socially, and emotionally.  This has been an incredible opportunity for me.


I love teaching and I also love doing art myself.  When creating art for my own personal enjoyment, I prefer acrylic and gouache painting, and ceramics, and am currently working on my watercolor skills.  I sometimes work with oil pastels, paper-mache, fibers as well.   I have experience in many different visual arts from sculpture, oil pastels, origami, recycled arts, glue batik, sewing, face painting,  intaglio printmaking, weaving and photography.  I intend to continue my personal art education into the future.










....And this is a painting of my (child) dog Rocko...