About

The Story of a Sign-Painting Teacher

“When I was a kid, I always imagined I’d become an artist, like my dad. Growing up, I spent so much time in his sign shop that to this day, I actually find the smell of paint thinner strangely soothing. After school, I’d watch Dad hand-letter signs and pinstripe trucks while Tom Waits hummed on the stereo and I covered the concrete floor in chalk art. Sign painting seemed like the perfect job—one that allowed you to be free, creative, and rock out to tunes all day.

As much as I loved art, however, I also loved learning and working my hardest at school. I graduated high school early and spent a year abroad studying in the Netherlands. I had a deep interest in foreign language and desperately wanted to explore a world outside the Midwest. I would spend the next 6 years living in 4 different countries studying Dutch, Spanish, French and Estonian. I received a BA in French from New York University, and eventually decided to pursue a Masters in Education, expecting to teach foreign language.

During graduate school when I began to study instructional methods, I reflected on the unique high school I had attended as an exchange student in the Netherlands. It was called a Vrijeschool (Waldorf school). The Vrijeschool curriculum was based on a “head, heart and hands” philosophy of education. Teachers encouraged students to work intellectually, creatively, and with reverence for the world around them. This influence had reignited an artistic spark in me that enabled me to think and learn in a new, effective way. Rather than study stacks of textbooks, for example, my teachers expected me to produce my own books for each subject by recording notes in beautiful penmanship, accompanied by detailed illustration. I considered this influential experience from my past as I prepared myself for a career in education, and I resolved that I wanted to become a Waldorf teacher. Though I’d always imagined I’d teach world language, I ultimately became a class teacher, responsible for bringing a full and varied curriculum to students age K-8.

Working in Waldorf schools for over a decade helped me to reconnect with my artistic aspirations from childhood. In 2018, I stepped away from teaching full-time and began working alongside my dad Jeff at The King of Paint, finally fulfilling my young fantasy of becoming a sign painter and graphic designer. Since then, I continue to balance BOTH careers. I design beautiful signage, and I also work as a training and education manager and consultant. I love flexing my creative AND intellectual muscles! I truly believe that being an artist makes me a better teacher and being a teacher makes me a better artist.”