Visual Arts

List of 3 members.

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  Jennifer Fergus 

  HS Art Teacher

  901-751-6401

  JAfergus@briarcrest.com

  Bio

  Jenna Fergus has enjoyed teaching visual arts at Briarcrest Christian School since 1999. She graduated magna cum laude from The University of Memphis in 1999 with a BFA in art education. After completing her Master’s of Arts in Intercultural Studies from Union University in 2011, Jenna visited Israel for a month teaching an art camp for a boys and girls club in the city of Ramallah, Palestine. She enjoys installing her clothesline art in her spare time and has had several group and solitary shows of her paintings in the past 3 years.
  
  The emphasis of Jenna’s MAIS degree is from Memphis College of Art in art and art education. This educational focus prepared her to formulate her current project of a webpage, conference presentations, and consultation work in the area of equipping teachers to prepare students to learn to think visually. Jenna believes visual art is a powerful tool to equip every student to connect with and utilize knowledge. 

   

  In 2015 Jenna was named Secondary Art Teacher of the Year for the State of Tennessee by the Tennessee Art Education Association. 
• 

  Melody Weintraub 

  Middle School Art Teacher

  myweintraub@briarcrest.com

  Bio

  Melody Weintraub has taught Middle School Art for over a decade. She received her Masters of Art Teaching in Secondary Art Education from The University of Memphis. She served as a full-time appointed art education instructor for two years at UM and occasionally teaches as an adjunct instructor. She has also taught art at Cordova High School.

   

  She is licensed by the State of Tennessee with a Visual Arts K-12 Endorsement. At the University of Memphis she has taught both graduate and undergraduate level courses and supervised student art teachers. She has over 15 years of K-12 classroom art instruction experience in both private and public schools, over 20 years experience in community art instruction and adult art instruction, and has presented at the National Art Education Association and Tennessee Art Education Conferences. In 2013 the Tennessee Art Education Association (TAEA) named her Tennessee Middle School Art Educator of the Year. In 2015, Weintraub was elected to the Board of the TAEA as West Tennessee Regional Chair. She has been published in several issues of School Arts Magazine and is the author/illustrator of the children’s book The Little Bluebird (2001) and illustrator of ABC’s for Teachers by Billie McDonald Jeffries (1993). Weintraub was the managing editor of the revised educational component of the Paul Revere Williams Project website. Her visual art concentration is in painting, especially watercolor. In 2015, her solo art exhibition, “Les Fleurs” has been shown on South Main and in midtown Memphis. She is a member of National Art Education Association, Memphis/Germantown Art League and The Portrait Society of America. She currently teaches Middle School Art at Briarcrest Christian School in Eads, Tennessee. Her website and blog can be found at www.melody-weintraub.squarespace.com.

   

   

  Besides art, Melody’s hobbies also include acting. She can be seen in several television commercials and also appeared as the history teacher in the film, “The Blind Side.”  She and her husband Jeff are members of First Evangelical Church. One of her favorite quotes about teaching, “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge” by Albert Einstein. Her life verse is Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship; created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath ordained beforehand that we should walk in them.”

   
• 

  Tonya Loyd 

  Elementary Art Teacher

  901-765-4613

  tsloyd@briarcrest.com

  Bio

  Tonya Loyd has taught Elementary Art to Houston Levee Elementary Pre-K – 5th graders at her alma mater since 2007. Tonya discovered early on in her life that she had a God–given gift and a passion for art and strives to facilitate an environment that encourages students to discover their talents and abilities as well.
  
  She is a graduate of the University of Memphis with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art and worked as a graphic designer at an international chemical company for six years.  Tonya has done a variety of art in all kinds of media such as oil, acrylic, pastel, clay, paper mache, and pen & ink, but her favorite is personalized watercolor paintings.
  
  She publishes her own work and has several limited edition prints. She has been commissioned by individuals, Mississippi State University’s Alumni Association, and Briarcrest Christian School. She recently added “Illustrator” to her list of accomplishments when she was commissioned to produce the artwork for Princess Polka Dot and Sir Learnalot, a children’s book written by Angie Sneathern and published by Westbow Press.