Art allows people to express themselves, show emotion, and use the creative side of their brains, and for NC art teacher, Carrie Brewer, creating art applies to all of the above. The beauty of art appeals to Brewer including the constant change and growth that comes with the career moving from part-time teaching to the full-time classroom. 

“Working full time was always something I wanted to do; it was always a goal I had, but my kids come first,” Brewer said.

As a young child, Brewer’s vision centered around the medical field. Through studying Fine Arts at Florida Atlantic University, her perspectives began to shift. Observing her Ceramics Art Professor, John McCoy, she saw his passion for creating.

“He was just so joyous because he got to teach what he loved, creating every single day. I thought wow, I really want that for myself, for my own life,” Brewer said.

Even while working within her family, Brewer, however, did not forget about artistic passion and stayed active in the art community, participating in First Fridays in Marietta, an event taking place between March and November, where a free self-guided tour of diverse and captivating local artwork is displayed throughout the Historic Marietta Square.

In 2017, before she began working at NC, Brewer completed a year-long internship, learning about NC’s Fine Arts team. She met NC’s Art teacher Susan Dowling and developed her personal classroom environment and routine.  

“It was very important to me, to foster important relationships with the Fine Arts team because I would be working with them every day. I was also doing lots of planning, to get an inventory of really cool lesson plans to teach my art classes,” Brewer said. “The Fine Arts team that I get to work with every single day is phenomenal.  They’re amazing and it’s super awesome getting to work next to Mrs. Dowling [NC Art Teacher],” Brewer said.

With all of Brewer’s hard work, Dowling and the Fine Arts team saw the value and support Brewer brought to the team. 

“She really has brought positive energy to the team. All of us get along really well and we support each other in what we do in the classroom and as friends. We are there for each other as far is you’ve had a bad day or you’re having a bad week…we take care of each other always having each other’s back,” Dowling said.

In May of 2019, Brewer received the full-time Art teaching position, and when coworker Dowling found out about Brewer’s new full-time position, she felt ecstatic. The opportunity for growth came not only for Brewer but for the art program, too.

“She was crying, I was crying, we were jumping up and down, so excited. Both of us want to have the art program grow, love teaching art, and love having the kids in our classroom. And I think that the kids know that, that we are here for the right reasons,” Dowling said.       

In addition to fantastic coworkers, Ms. Brewer’s new students this year enjoy her presence and appreciate her positive impact on their artistic ability and skill.

“She’s really helpful when it comes to giving feedback on what you can do to improve your art and tips you can use to make it look better and develop a better style,” sophomore Cassidy Smith said.  

“I think change brings growth. If you have a positive mindset, you can overcome sometimes the uncomfortableness of change. If you think about it everything changes, it is just a matter of time. Being open to possibilities is very important if you want to grow and definitely, if you have goals, to have a plan in place to invite change,” Brewer said.