Visual Arts
Our Fine Arts classes cover a wide spectrum of all areas in art. Students spend time developing their skills in sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, painting, graphic design, photography and drawing. We focus on the elements and principles of design while teaching about artists and movements all while centering each lesson on creation!
Michael Geddings
MS Visual Arts Teacher & Artist
I have been drawing since I was 4 years old. I had a humble upbringing and paper was something that I could play with that was inexpensive and accessible. I started drawing cartoons and memorizing the line structures that formed these pictures. In the first grade, my elementary art teacher entered one of my pictures, a cartoon drawing of an elephant, in the South Carolina State Fair. The piece won first place and that is how it all began. In high school, my focus and primary interest was portraiture. I received my first, real commission when I was a sophomore and then many followed after that. I actually had a cool side job drawing designs, faces, images and such on other students’ jeans using a sharpie marker. The turning point was being accepted into the SC Governor’s School for the Arts. The five weeks that I spent there with fellow artists truly changed my perspective on art. I knew then this is what I was meant to pursue.
In response to the Lord’s calling, I committed to a part-time teaching position at Northside Christian Academy in July 2021. I enjoy teaching middle school students about art and instilling in them a love for drawing and creative expression. I have been told my whole life that I have incredible talent, but I disagree. I simply possess a gift that God has given to me. My mission field is anyone who walks through the doors of my studio, or as of recent, any student that occupies a seat in my classroom. I am very blessed that I can do what I love because of the gifts that God has given me, as well as being able to teach in his house at Northside Christian Academy.
Jennifer Laws
LS Visual Arts Teacher & Artist
Art gives students the opportunity to study and respond to God and His creation. The visual arts uniquely involve students in perceiving the world they live in, reacting to the things they see and feel, and interpreting their emotions, feelings and insights through a variety of visual materials.
The elementary art program encourages the develop of the basic elements (line, shape, color, value, texture and space)and principals (balance, repetition, unity, contrast, and emphasis) in art, building on the previous years knowledge.In addition the curricula reinforces the classroom learning by incorporating art projects related to language arts, science, history and Bible. The students have the opportunity to use their imagination and be creative in a variety of media and techniques such as painting, printmaking, textiles, sculpture, clay, collage, and drawing.
Jennifer Laws, the lower school art teacher, has been teaching art at Northside since it opened in 2011 and has had the privilege of sharing her love of the Lord, His creation and art with the students. She has a BA in elementary and art education and a MA in studio art. She enjoys painting, printmaking and metalsmith jewelry fabrications in her home studio. Jennifer is married to Richard, and they have two adult children. She also enjoys playing tennis, golf and loves to work in the gardens. Her passion for teaching and being at Northside is Psalm 145:
“Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty and I will meditate on your wonderful works.”
Sherri Gebhard
K4 - 1st Grade Visual Arts Teacher
Jessie-Fay Abbott
HS Visual Arts Teacher & Artist
Hello! I teach high school Art, Graphic Design and Yearbook. Over the years I have received the Art Award in 2018 and in college I received the President's choice award.
Don’t ask me where I’m from. As a Missionary Kid this question fills me with more dread than any other question. My humble beginnings in the jungles of Papua Indonesia to eventual studies in the US, there have been a lot of places where I have called home.
My mother was both my greatest inspiration and greatest critic who helped develop my artistry throughout my early years. I did not realize the extent of my love of art until college and was awarded the art award during my senior year. I received a BA in Art and History from Houghton College and am enjoying my second year as a teacher at NCA.