from Woodward Avenue Elementary School — Deland, Florida

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Biography

My name is Kim Geist and I have been teaching art at Woodward since 2001. For 8 years before that, I was a freelance artist and stay at home mom with my 4 kids. I have been happily married to my husband Greg since 1985- the same amount of time that he has been employed at WESH TV2 in Orlando.
I love learning about all types of cultures and art but my specialty is painting and pencil drawings (portraits and architecture). I graduated from Ohio University (Go Bobcats!) in 1984 with a BA in Social Work & minor in psychology. I worked as a social worker for Volusia County in the 80's and 90's. I then completed an AS in Graphic Design Technology from the Southeast Center for Photo/Graphic Studies housed at DSC.
My first love is music and theater so you'll probably find me around the school involved in our musical productions. When I was in middle and high school, my life revolved around the arts - visual arts, ballet, tap, piano, flute (orchestra/band/jazz band), xylophone (marching season), choral and solo voice along with plays and musical theater. I began college as a flute and voice performance major. So I have come full circle back to the arts! I am passionate about teaching the elements and principles of art, art history, skills and techniques with connections to social studies, science, math, and language arts. And guess what? We have fun!

“The arts are an essential element of education, just like reading, writing, and arithmetic…music, dance, painting, and theater are all keys that unlock profound human understanding and accomplishment.”

–William Bennett, Former US Secretary of Education

“We need people who think with the creative side of their brains—people who have played in a band, who have painted…it enhances symbiotic thinking capabilities, not always thinking in the same paradigm, learning how to kick-start a new idea, or how to get a job done better, less expensively.”

–Annette Byrd, GlaxoSmithKline

Get Smart, Make Art!

Personal Art Gallery