Art teacher Christy Eliades returns
By Michael Winn
Returning art teacher, Christy Eliades, rushed into the art room full of excitement about the new school year on Sept. 7th. She smiled at all of her new students. She glowed with enthusiasm and creative ideas as she began the class and a new year.
Eliades teaches Art I and II students as well as a crafts class.
“My favorite thing about teaching art is what students can come up with in their imagination,” Eliades said. “I applied and received the job, and the rest is history.”
She grew up on the space coast in Cocoa, Florida, home to the famous TV series, “I Dream of Jeannie.” Eliades has had numerous experiences in the art field beginning with her bachelors or BFA degree in Interior Design from VCU, as well as her teaching degree, and now she is currently taking classes at VCU to obtain her masters or MFA degree in teaching.
The art teacher has had many experiences in this school system as well, having taught at the high school for one year, then at J.E.J Moore Middle for seven, North Elementary for three, and now back at the high school.
Eliades finds inspiration in her favorite artist, Marc Chagall. Her favorite quote that she lives by is, “I am much more interested in developing a person’s creativity than developing any technical skills in art.”
Jessica Taylor • Oct 28, 2010 at 5:51 pm
Even though I don’t take art anymore, I am still very excited for Mrs. Eliades to be back. She was my art teacher in fifth grade and I absolutely loved her. She was by far my favorite art teacher ever. Having her back makes me want to take art again.
Jessica Marshall • Oct 28, 2010 at 5:06 pm
I have Mrs. Eliades as an art teacher and I love it. She’s the complete opposite of any art teacher I’ve ever had before. She lets you be the artist without standing over your shoulder,telling you to do this or do that. She isn’t afraid to jump right into thinks. I like a fast paced environment and her class is exactly that. I’m glad she’s back at the high school.
Alex Martinez • Oct 28, 2010 at 1:54 pm
I like Eliades’s favorite quote about creativity; if only someone could develop mine. Good luck to her on cultivating in her students the creativity to imagine great ideas for art and the technical ability to transcribe the ideas from their mind to a medium that all can see and enjoy.
Rachel Arnold • Oct 28, 2010 at 12:46 pm
I don’t have this teacher for art, but I can tell that she has a lot of passion for her job from this article. Also I know that she has taken on the Art Club which can be pretty hectic sometimes. She wouldn’t do that if she didn’t like her job.
Diana O. • Oct 28, 2010 at 7:52 am
I think it is amazing that we have teachers actually coming back to the high school not only to solely teach but to expand the imagination of the students. The article was great Michael you went beyond just the surface and showed why it is great to have her back. I’m pretty sure the art students are ecstatic to have her back to increase their creativity.
Tessa Allen • Oct 26, 2010 at 7:57 pm
I really like how this article flows from topic to topic without feeling choppy or rushed. I think that when a teacher is excited and happy about being a teacher that often transfers to the class and produces much better results, so I’m very glad to hear we have an art teacher that’s so passionate about her job.
Carrie Young • Oct 26, 2010 at 5:25 am
I took an art class during the summer a few years ago for PAAS Art from her and it was really enjoyable. She is truly a nice, bubbly person and this article makes me want to take art next year!
Kim Carneal • Oct 25, 2010 at 5:15 pm
I love the coverage on the new (or in this case, returning) teachers. I don’t have a drop of artistic talent in my blood, but reading about her passion with teaching students art makes me wish I had signed up for art class.
Olivia Tritschler • Oct 25, 2010 at 1:02 pm
I have Mrs. Eliades for my art 2 teacher and this captured her warm personality perfectly in the lead paragraph. I also enjoyed how I found out a bit more about her as to where she was born and how she is attending VCU right now. Great job!
Chris Bae • Oct 24, 2010 at 5:16 pm
Well this surely is a familiar face to Prince George High School. It is good to see that she returns with a positive attitude and excitement. She sure is straight to the point about her job. Best of luck to her this year.
Rachel Waymack • Oct 22, 2010 at 9:20 pm
I like how this article went beyond just her as a teacher and went to a more personal level to try to explain a little of who she truly is.
Madison Guidry • Oct 21, 2010 at 10:57 am
I love how the article focuses on every aspect of her, from her going to school to teaching at different schools. It is neat how she is going through school just like we are. I really enjoy how creative she is and how that is her main focus. I feel that some art students feel a pressure to be perfect and she seems to make them very comfortable.
Trey Carter • Oct 19, 2010 at 5:12 am
It is great that we have teacher who is not simply focused on teaching someone a skill, it seems that Ms. Eliades is interested in building the students creativity. I wish there were more teachers in this school who had this same mentality. PGHS would produce more intelligent students.
Haseena Abdur-Rahman • Oct 18, 2010 at 10:05 pm
It’s exiting having one of Prince George’s beloved art teachers return into the art room full of excitement. She sounds enthusiastic and I’m glad that she has returned with new, creative ideas to start the new year.
She’s even taught around the school system in Prince George so she must be really easy to talk to and well experienced with students of various age groups.
admin • Sep 27, 2010 at 5:57 pm
Congratulations Michael on your first published story! Thanks for our introduction to our new art teacher.