An artist is sitting at her desk, working on her newest painting, concentrating on the strokes of her brush when she receives a call that changes her life. Randall High School has just called and offered her her dream job of teaching art.

Ms. Stacy Ferguson is the new art teacher at Randall High School. She teaches how to make jewelry, painting, and Art 1. Ferguson graduated from Randall in 2002 and went on to get a degree in art and later in education. During the course of this school year, her classes will be working on various projects such as learning how to make beads, experimenting with different paint mediums such as watercolor, oil pastel, acrylic, and oil paint, and creating three dimensional cardboard cutouts.

“I’m thrilled to be here,” Ferguson said. “This is my dream job. It doesn’t really feel like a job.”

Ms. Ferguson draws inspiration for her own art and class projects from online sources such as Pinterest, as well as from her family.

“My mom is probably my biggest inspiration,” Ferguson said fondly.  “She’s an artist like none other, so it kind of got passed down, and my Grandma is an artist too. We do a lot of art together.”

For all students interested in taking her class, know that Ms. Ferguson’s class isn’t just a blow off class that you can take to boost your GPA.

“You’re going to work hard for me,” Ferguson said. “If you don’t, you’re just not going to get out of it what you need to. I want you to work hard and I want you to have fun.”

Ms. Ferguson was also a 5th grade math teacher at Greenways Intermediate. She says that she enjoyed teaching math but likes art better because you are able to push yourself creatively and think outside the box, whereas something like math is much more straightforward.

“Art makes you better in all your subjects,” Ferguson said. “I know for me, if I don’t have a creative time, I start breaking down. My worry increases, my stress increases, my anxiety increases, but if I go be creative, it allows me to do better in other areas. I think everybody, to some extent, needs an outlet, and art provides that.”

Ms. Ferguson’s class is a safe place for everyone, artist or not, to enjoy participating in something creative and take their mind off of the stress that the school day brings.

“I’ll find something you like and we’ll build on it,” Ferguson said. “Everybody is an artist in their own right. You just have to find your niche.”