from Orangeburg Wilkinson Senior High — Orangeburg, South Carolina

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Biography

Hi!

I am Ms. Mahle and I am starting my seventh year in education. I earned my Associate in Arts degree from Midlands Technical college in 2005 in Commercial Graphics. I earned my Bachelor of Arts degree from USC-Columbia in 2007 in Visual Communications. I also earned my Master of Arts in Teaching from USC-Columbia in 2011 in Art Education.

My family is spread from Sacramento, CA to Hilda, SC. I am from South Carolina and I really love it here. I do not have any children of my own, but instead look at my family as being all of the students that I have ever worked with and the students I have yet to work with. I have 5 cats: Mr. Charlie, Oda-Mae, Pepper, Spot, and Benedict Arnold Morningsides. I love all animals and children.


I believe art to be an important and essential part of the school curriculum. As a 21st century learner, students benefit most from thinking creatively, taking risks, being confidant and learning how to work with happy accidents…all of which are emphasized in my class. Students study artists and art history, they make art and they experiment with a variety of art materials in my class. Students in my class learn about artists and techniques not only from the masters of the past but also the artists who are producing art in our time. I believe it is important to bring in the art and visual culture that our kids are presented with every day. I am prepared to not only teach what we traditionally think of as art but to also teach photography, graphic design and mixed media while bringing in the technology our students navigate outside of class every day.

I don’t think anyone can deny the highly visual culture we are living in today and I believe it is our duty as teachers to help them navigate this new frontier. Students shouldn’t just be receptacles for this visual culture, but instead be critical thinkers about how it affects their lives and their world. We are presented with visual problems every day and students will learn how to solve those problems in my class through portfolios, compare and contrast and well-balanced artist’s statements.

I've ALWAYS held a deep love of all things visual. When *I* was in high school I was on both the yearbook (The Bearcat) and school magazine (The Laureate) staffs. I've worked in the field of advertising and graphic design as well as journalistic photography and Web design.

I enjoy traveling and have been all over the United States as well as Italy, France, Scotland and England. I love experiencing new things...especially other countries. If I weren't teaching, I would probably be a travel photographer.


Personal Message:

“Art is the representation, science the explanation, of the same reality.”-Herbert Read

Personal Art Gallery