Formal Resume for Leah Newton
I am currently a Curriculum Specialist for Arts Education for Elk Grove Unified School District. Throughout my career, I have developed curriculum for multiple grade levels and across all subject matter areas, notably a visual arts curriculum. I not only want to reach children, I want to reach their teachers so that I can have a larger impact for arts education. I also serve as an Educational Consultant with the Blue Line, as a Teaching Artist with the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., and will be presenting for this year’s International Arts Integration Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. Recently, I sat on a panel for Create CA as an arts educator, advocating for the importance of arts in schools. My personal mission is to promote how the arts can elevate our culture, our community, and ourselves.
I am also a professional artist in the community. Over the past ten years, I have received multiple awards, showing my paintings in a variety of art galleries. I have been featured in the California State Fair twice, once earning an Award of Merit. I have also been featured twice in the Crocker Kingsley Art Exhibition and Competition, twice in the Wild and Scenic Art Festival. I held my first solo art show the the Siy Gallery in San Francisco, “On Becoming”. I am currently a member of the Blue Line Arts gallery in Roseville, CA. I published my first children’s book, “Of Wonder and Dreams” that I both authored and illustrated. I am looking to publish my second book later this year.
Contact Leah
Get in touch with me via email at: leahnewtonart@gmail.com
How it all began
For me, kindergarten was amazing! We sat in large circles and listened to stories, we sang songs, we danced, we acted out plays, and we made art. I have vivid memories of this magical time and embraced every moment.
I remember specifically the day we were coloring Babar the Elephant; the popular thing of the day. On the worktable was our coloring sheet, and the basic coloring crayons; red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black and brown. This is a very normal selection for a 5 year old. I was not okay with these options.
I remember feeling frozen. My teacher came over to me and calmly asked what was wrong. I told her that I did not have the right color for Babar – Babar is grey. She smiled and directed me to just use a black crayon, and to use it lightly. I turned and screamed at my teacher, “Elephants are not light black!!” I cried and cried until my mother came to pick me up.
My teacher pulled my mother aside later that day, and advised her to enroll me into a school for the arts. I had a unique connection to color. My mother, instead, chose to put me into a Catholic School. There I would struggle for many many years…except in any creative project that came my way, and especially during the very rare but treasured art period.
I believe our earliest memories hold secrets to who we deeply are and how we should live our lives. For me, making grey elephants, unlocked an important key for being able to live my creative dreams.
Artist Statement
As an artist, I am attracted to liminal space, and how intricately we are all connected with nature and her mysteries. I strive to capture details and colors with my brush and enjoy the challenge of working with acrylic paints in order to create movement on my canvas.
I believe art only really requires the desire to create and believing you can. My personal goal is to change this often heard statement, “I am not creative.” I believe we are all creative in some capacity. While I may not be a gifted singer, (actually I have a degree in dance and I love to paint but please do not ask me to sing) but I am a creative person because I am a human. As humans, we have the ability to imagine, and create, and innovate. We need architects, doctors, inventors, landscapers – all kinds of people, in all kinds of careers, to think creatively. Being creative is not just about drawing and painting. It is about bringing something new into being that you made from your personal vision.
