Sunday, September 3, 2023

Meet Mrs. Hopkins

 Hello! I am Mrs. Hopkins, one of the art teachers at Grace Prep this year. The previous posts on this page are all the wonderful creations and artwork of my students from the past 6 years. I am so thankful for Mrs. Benitez, one of my good friends, who stepped in to take over the art program last year. I had to step back for a while to deal with some health issues but I am glad to be back this year for a couple of the classes! 

I graduated in 1990 from Texas Tech University with a BS degree in Exercise and Sport Science and a minor in Art, an interesting combination isn't it? Let's just say it was hard to decide between two very different subjects that I was interested in. Being creative, however, is something I have enjoyed since I was a little girl and still do to this day. I think my favorite art media is drawing with regular and Prismacolor pencils but I like to try other things too.

My husband Mike and I have been married since 1994 and we have four Treasures ages 27 -17, Megan, Nathan, Nolan and Stephen. In the summer of 2021 we added a fifth Treasure, our new son-in-law Garrett who married our daughter in a beautiful ceremony in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area and a sixth Treasure followed, our baby granddaughter Eliza Sigrid born Spring 2023. Many members of my family, both immediate and extended, enjoy being creative whether it's in the written, visual, or musical arts.

My theme verse for teaching art, and something I hope that all of my students never forget, has been Ephesians 2:10. I like how it reads in the Amplified Bible:

For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set], so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us].

Just for fun, here are some samples of my own art from through the years. You can click on the photos to see more closely:

Psalm 91:4 - Mixed Media on Paper, 2022

Still LIFE with Toilet Paper, 2020 Edition - Prismacolor on Paper, 2020


Tribal Man - Half-Prismacolor drawing by me, 2022 (and Half-Photo by Alexander Khimushin)


Mythical Insect - Mixed Media Study on Paper, 2021


Fish - Soft Pastels on Paper


Entertainment Cabinet - Acrylic on Wood, 2010
Entertainment Cabinet - Acrylic on Wood

Acrylic and Fabric Mosaic on Fabric

Frog - Pencil on Paper

College Drawing Assignment - Pencil on Paper

My Heart Sings - Mixed Media

College Drawing Assignment - Graphite on Paper

Resting in His Reality Cover - Prismacolor on Paper

Hand - Pencil on Paper

Foot - Pencil on Paper

Homer Pigeon's Post Office - Pencil on Paper

Homer Pigeon's Typewriter - Prismacolor on paper

College Drawing Assignment - Pencil on Paper

Crazy Quilt

Piet Mondrian Art Theme Quilt

Flowers - Torn Magazine Mosaic

In the Garden - Torn Magazine on Paper

Armor of God - Ink on Paper

Metal Vase - Lost Wax Casting Technique

Ceramic Vase

Ceramic Bowl

Ceramic Bowl

Silly Goose - Photograph

Gulls in a Row - Photograph

Legs - Photograph

Spring Wildflowers - Photograph

Ready to Fly - Photograph

Thistle Flower - Photograph

I won my school district's logo design contest when I was in 11th grade (1984-85). The father of a family who lived in the district, Bob Overmyer, was an astronaut and my logo was made into a patch and flown on his space shuttle mission!
Clear Creek ISD used my design for close to 20 years!  (:-D)

My logo design as a patch (on right).

My logo design as a metal medallion.