Cortney N. Smith

I have been drawing and painting since I was young.  I took art lessons for about two years at Lena Di Gangi's Gallery in Totowa, New Jersey.  When I turned 14, I started to write and illustrate my own children's book, called Rodney, The Ice Dragon, and got it published.  When it was published, I went to local elementary schools with it and shared it with the kids there.  Seeing the impact that the book had on the children is what inspired me to become a teacher.  In fact, it was so much fun that I wrote a sequel and published that, too.

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After publishing the books, I continued to work on my art and took some volunteer teaching positions at my church and volunteered to paint murals.  After High School, I majored in Art and Education at William Paterson University.

 

In 2014, I started a Youtube channel of which I partnered with Rainbow Loom and made videos that showed how to create complex animals using their rubber band products.  My channel became a hit with many people and brought forth positive results and testimonies from many followers.

 

In 2015, I landed a teaching job at a private school in New Jersey and continued my youtube channel while I taught art to children from Kindergarten through 8th grade.  The following year in 2016, I married and received a teaching job in a public school, where I now teach art to students from Pre-K through 6th grade.  I occasionally work on my channel during free time, as well as my favorite types of art, including crochet, acrylic painting, pencil drawing, clay, and more.

 

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