Dec 12, 2023 Miss Gwen Finds Her Purpose Again at the Library
Teaching art is nothing new for retired art teacher Gwen A. Leslie. But teaching classes at the Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library is a new experience for the Iowa native who moved to Zionsville four years ago.
For years Miss Gwen, as she’s known around the Library, taught art to students at all levels, from kindergarten to graduate students. Now she’s sharing her love of art with the tweens in our community. She describes her current students as “very confident,” and she enjoys “when they tell me what they are going to do” with her artistic prompts.
“I just love what they contribute,” she said. “These kids are really good and ask really good questions.”
She got connected with the library after feeling a nudge to re-engage with teaching. She’d finally gotten settled in her new home and had set up her own studio, but she was looking for something more. She was already a frequent HMMPL user, and with a little encouragement from her daughter, she approached one of the youth librarians about volunteering. Miss Kristin was offering some youth art classes, so she invited Miss Gwen to lead one of those. Later, they added a second class to Miss Gwen’s calendar each month.
“I have a purpose again,” Miss Gwen said.
In addition to teaching art, Miss Gwen is also an artist herself. She creates using a variety of media, but especially acrylics, paper, and cardboard, and usually works on large canvases. In her art classes, she teaches the children some of her own techniques but also gives them room for their own unique expression.
“I was never the type of teacher who said my students had to do something a certain way,” Miss Gwen explained. “I teach them techniques, but mostly I let them be creative.”
If you have students in grades 3 – 5 who would enjoy taking art classes with Miss Gwen, look for upcoming sessions on the Library’s event calendar. She leads the monthly Let’s Draw class for Grades 3 – 5, along with the Art Hour with Miss Gwen class.
For more information about how you can volunteer at the Library, visit our Volunteer webpage or speak with one of the Librarians.
You can also hear directly from Miss Gwen in our recent YouTube Short: