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The Teacher Who Inspired My Creative Journey
How early lessons in teaching and creativity continue to shape the way I create, teach, and build Studio Agnew.
7/1/20265 min read
Last week, I shared the story of my dad and the incredible impact he made as the director of a basketball program. Through him, I learned the importance of building community, showing up consistently, and investing in others.
This week, I want to tell you about another person who quietly shaped the artist, teacher, and studio owner I've become—my mom.
My mom spent her career in education. She began as a French teacher, developing language programs for elementary and middle school students. After our family moved to Florida, she continued teaching kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. No matter the age of her students, she had a gift for making learning exciting while also teaching responsibility. She believed children were capable. Her students learned to be accountable for their homework, backpacks, classroom responsibilities, and ultimately, their own education.
One of the things she's always said is that her favorite part of teaching wasn't simply teaching the lesson—it was watching the growth of her students. Seeing a child learn to read, gain confidence, and accomplish something they once thought they couldn't was what brought her the greatest joy.
Every August, I'd help her prepare her classroom. We'd hang bulletin boards, organize supplies, arrange desks, and create learning centers. Every poster, every basket, and every detail had a purpose. At the time, I thought I was just helping decorate a classroom. Looking back, I realize I was learning how to create an experience.
Without realizing it, I was watching someone thoughtfully design a space where children felt welcomed, encouraged, and safe enough to learn something new. I didn't realize it then, but that was my first lesson in teaching.
Today, as I prepare Studio Agnew for its grand opening, I find myself asking many of those same questions. Where should the tables go? How will students move through the room? Where should the supplies live? How can the space feel both inspiring and organized?
Just last week, my mom was beside me helping set up the studio. My tables hadn't arrived yet, and I found myself asking for her opinion on nearly everything. It felt like the roles had shifted. After years of watching her prepare classrooms, she was now helping me prepare mine.
This studio is a big leap. It's something I've quietly dreamed about for years, never quite knowing when the right time would come. Having her there beside me made the moment feel full circle.
Not because I didn't know where things go, but because so much of what I'm building was shaped by watching her. She has been there every step of the way—not by telling me exactly what to do, but by giving me the confidence to trust what I've already learned.
That confidence started long before I ever became an artist.
Growing up, if I became curious about something, my mom found a way to help me explore it. When I wanted to learn figure skating, she found lessons. She became my Girl Scout troop leader, planning adventures, creative projects, and hands-on experiences that encouraged us to try new things. She never dismissed my interests because they seemed temporary. She understood that curiosity is worth following.
She also somehow managed to do all of this while raising four children—three boys and me.
What I appreciate most now is that she never expected us to fit into the same mold. She treated each of us as individuals. She paid attention to what made each of us unique and encouraged those gifts instead of comparing us to one another. She never tried to decide who we should become. Instead, she gave us the freedom to discover it for ourselves.
As a kid, I dreamed of becoming a figure skater, basketball player, golfer, artist, astronaut—whatever captured my imagination at the time. She never laughed at those dreams or told me they were unrealistic. She simply encouraged me to keep exploring.
Looking back, I realize she saw something in me before I could see it myself. She recognized my curiosity as a gift and gave it room to grow.
During her visit, I asked her something I'd been thinking about.
"Were you surprised that I ended up teaching art?"
She didn't hesitate.
"No," she said. "Because you have a gift."
Her answer wasn't really about art.
It was about everything she had already seen over the years—curiosity, creativity, and a genuine desire to help others learn. She knew teaching wasn't something I stumbled into. It had been growing quietly in me all along.
Instead of steering me toward one path, she simply opened doors. Those opportunities became experiences. Those experiences became confidence. And that confidence became a career built around helping others discover their own creativity.
When I look back over my career, I realize teaching has always been part of it—even before I stepped into an art classroom.
Whether I was working with entrepreneurs, nonprofits, or larger companies, my role was never simply to design a logo or build a website. It was to listen, ask questions, uncover what made each business unique, and help tell their story in a way that connected with others.
I became a guide.
I helped business owners discover their voice, organize their ideas, and bring all the pieces of their brand together into something meaningful. I loved helping people see what made them different and giving them the confidence to share that with the world.
In many ways, I was teaching all along.
Today, I simply do it with paintbrushes, paper, and creative experiences instead of branding presentations and design files.
Perhaps the greatest lesson my mom taught me was independence. She believed in giving people the confidence to figure things out for themselves while knowing someone was always there to encourage them. She didn't solve every problem for us. Instead, she gave us the tools, encouragement, and trust to find our own way.
That's the same approach I hope to bring to every student who walks into Studio Agnew.
I don't want people to leave one of my classes with a painting they're proud of.
I want them to leave believing they are creative.
I want them to trust their ideas, experiment without fear, and realize they are capable of more than they imagined.
Maybe that's why my mom's favorite part of teaching was always watching her students grow. Looking back, I realize that's become my favorite part, too.
Because that's the kind of environment my mom spent her career building—one where every student mattered, learning was joyful, curiosity was celebrated, and people were trusted to grow.
Looking back, I realize I had two incredible teachers growing up.
My dad taught me how to build a community.
My mom taught me how to nurture one.
Studio Agnew is, in many ways, a reflection of both of them.
Even today, she's there through every phone call—whether I'm excited, frustrated, overwhelmed, celebrating a win, or trying to solve a problem. She listens, offers wisdom when I need it, and reminds me that I'm more capable than I sometimes believe.
During her visit, we also talked about how much the world has changed since she first stepped into a classroom. She smiled and told me that my generation is unbelievable with technology. She admires the energy, determination, and willingness to succeed that she sees in younger entrepreneurs and creators.
Hearing that reminded me that she's always looked for the strengths in people rather than focusing on their limitations. That's one of the greatest gifts a teacher can give.
She still tells me, "You know what you're doing. And I have a gift."
The funny thing is, I know what I'm doing because she spent a lifetime showing me what thoughtful teaching, preparation, patience, encouragement, and believing in people looks like.
Mom, you never told me who I should become.
You simply gave me the freedom, the confidence, and the support to become whoever I was meant to be.
Today, Studio Agnew is more than an art studio. It's a place built on the same belief you instilled in me from the very beginning—that every person has unique gifts, creativity grows when it's encouraged, and sometimes all someone needs is someone who believes in them before they believe in themselves.
That's what I carry with me in my work every single day.
Follow the Creativity
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