Hello! My name is Tori Swartz and I teach art here at Gayton Elementary. Everyday is an adventure in exploration and creativity! The gators keep me on my toes and cultivate an ever changing artistic environment where students can grow and learn from one another.
A lttle about me:
I graduated from Longwood University in 2005 and have been teaching art ever since. My first school was Virginia Randolph Special Education Center in the fall of 2005. In 2006 I moved to Gayton Elementary, my former elementary school!
I live in Glen Allen with my husband and two sons and am a Richmond native. I came through Gayton Elementary, Quioccasin Middle (then Byrd) and Godwin High School. I then went on to earn a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in Art Education with a mini concentration in crafts from Longwood University. This degree requires all the education classes on top of the art studio classes and I had to take 18-22 credits per semester plus summer school to get through college in 4 years. It was a LOT of work, but well worth it, and majoring in art is not only a lot of work, but also a lot of fun! These days I enjoy relaxing at the river with my family, running, writing, painting, drawing, jewelry making and working with clay.
A lot of my students ask me, “How did you get to be so good at drawing?” My answer is always the same; “Practice.” I have been drawing since I could hold a pencil and it is something that just stuck with me through the years. If you draw something, and don’t like the way it looks…erase it and fix whatever it is you don’t like about your drawing. Do not just start over on another piece of paper. We all make mistakes, but practice makes perfect, so just keep on drawing!
I look forward to working with your children and seeing what kinds of projects we can create together! We are going to have a fantastic year!
-Mrs. Tori Swartz
[email protected]
A lttle about me:
I graduated from Longwood University in 2005 and have been teaching art ever since. My first school was Virginia Randolph Special Education Center in the fall of 2005. In 2006 I moved to Gayton Elementary, my former elementary school!
I live in Glen Allen with my husband and two sons and am a Richmond native. I came through Gayton Elementary, Quioccasin Middle (then Byrd) and Godwin High School. I then went on to earn a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in Art Education with a mini concentration in crafts from Longwood University. This degree requires all the education classes on top of the art studio classes and I had to take 18-22 credits per semester plus summer school to get through college in 4 years. It was a LOT of work, but well worth it, and majoring in art is not only a lot of work, but also a lot of fun! These days I enjoy relaxing at the river with my family, running, writing, painting, drawing, jewelry making and working with clay.
A lot of my students ask me, “How did you get to be so good at drawing?” My answer is always the same; “Practice.” I have been drawing since I could hold a pencil and it is something that just stuck with me through the years. If you draw something, and don’t like the way it looks…erase it and fix whatever it is you don’t like about your drawing. Do not just start over on another piece of paper. We all make mistakes, but practice makes perfect, so just keep on drawing!
I look forward to working with your children and seeing what kinds of projects we can create together! We are going to have a fantastic year!
-Mrs. Tori Swartz
[email protected]