It could be said that Jill Gomas Faison was destined to become an art teacher from the moment she picked up her first crayon.
Jill’s father, Ralph Gomas — a life-long art educator who understood the powerful impact art experiences could have on a young person — made sure there were always plenty of art materials around the house for she and her little sister to explore.
Jill’s “formal” art training came in the form of a BA in Advertising Design — followed by ten years of working as a graphic designer. Ready for a change, Jill returned to school to earn her teaching credential — teaching first in an elementary school classroom, and then in a secondary art classroom.
Being strongly influenced by her Dad while he taught Professional Development art classes, Jill saw that “teaching teachers” how to teach art to their own students, impacted a far greater number of children than she could ever reach in her classroom alone. Earning her Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Teaching made it possible for Jill to assist her father in teaching these empowering — and very popular — Professional Development courses. Since Ralph’s passing, Jill continues to “teach teachers” — regardless of their art background — how easy it is to bring the joy and power of art to their students by connecting it to their required classroom curriculum.
Art For Elementary Teachers 
Good for you! This is wonderful, Jill. I look forward to your posts!
Jill I lam so proud of you and all of your accomplishments. When I read the one with the heading “about Jill” I feel I am bursting at the seems with pride and know that Dad is loving all you are doing with the up dating to his original work. Everything looks great and I look forward to seeing next week. Lots of Love YOUR MOM
Hi Jill I have checked out all of your info on the new web site and I think it looks great, fun, and some very exciting and useful course to take . Barbara
Why thank you Barbara! I have lots of exciting blog post ideas planned, so please visit my site often for some great tips, lesson ideas, and more! And tell all of your teacher friends (and daughter) about it too!
Jill
*Jill Gomas Faison, MA* *Instructor, Center for Professional Development Fresno Pacific University*
JGomasFaison@gmail.com *ArtForElementaryTeachers.com*
Hi Jill! Great Website and Blog. I am going to tell all my teacher friends. 🙂
Jill, thank you for sharing your art knowledge. Your information sure removes my perceived art fears and gives me an “I can do this” attitude. Bravo!
I teach K-12 art at a Christian school, have a degree in Art Therapy, but not Art education. My aim is to keep students interested in visual arts through gaining comfort and confidence with materials and processes, which doesn’t always translate to something pretty on the bulletin boards, or a nice package to take home. I’m having difficulty communicating this to my administrator and some teachers. Any thoughts?
Hi Cathy,
I understand your dilemma here. Unfortunately, I think this attitude is very pervasive. What many people fail to understand is that very often, a highly successful art experience has nothing to do with “outcome” or “product”. Society has been conditioned to think about art in terms of the end product… how much does the resulting art work “look like” the thing it is supposed to be… is it “pretty”… is it “finished”? Learning to think creatively might involve some sort of recognizable finished piece, but it certainly doesn’t have to. What I’m really talking about here is process vs. product. I would try to explain that the process of creating art is where the meaning, growth, and discovery happens. In my opinion, that’s the real “meat” of an art experience. If something “pretty” is produced along the way — that’s great — but that shouldn’t be the goal of the experience. Of all the subjects students are required to study in school, art is really the only one that comes from inside the child… the place where their ideas… explorations… and interpretations are all valid. (As opposed to math for example, where 2+2=4. Not a lot of wiggle room or space for exploration there… it’s been determined. It’s a fact outside of the child that they will be taught to learn and to accept.) What I’m talking about here is most definitely not, “Here are some crayons and paper kids — do whatever you want.” On the contrary, a meaningful art program will have requirements, expectations, and goals, that encourage growth, creativity, artistic risk-taking, and exploration. These are the kinds of experiences that might not result in the perfect bulletin board display, but they will go a long way toward producing creative people who are uniquely equipped to face the challenges that will surely be waiting for them in the future.
I hope this helps… I’d love to hear your thoughts…
Hi Jill, I love your classes ! I have 0 talent so I took the The Magic of Paper and I am able to successfully use ART with my younger students.They enjoyed the city building, fish scale, and dinner plate so much that I am enrolling in 903 for more ideas to share with my Home Hospital students. Thanks Jill !
Thank you Cynthia! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your kind words and the fact that you took the time to make a comment here on my website. I love that you’ve decided to take another course from me, and I look forward to having you in class again. 🙂