Hello! I am in my sixteenth year of teaching and experiencing a year of great professional success. Earlier this year I was recognized as my school’s Teacher of the Year and Senior High nominee for the Dwyer Award- I find out later this spring if I move on to the finals. I also received recognition from the Palm Beach Cultural Council as a MUSE Award recipient (Liman Excellence in Arts Education) and most recently as a finalist for the Central Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce ‘Women of Worth’ award in the Education category. To say that it has been a whirlwind would be an understatement! I am committed to being a lifelong learner, as evident in earning my MAEd in May 2009, and also by my quest for National Board Teacher certification, which I achieved in November of 2010 (I am currently working on my renewal- wish me luck!) I have taught in the public and private sector- all levels. I am currently teaching 9-12 art. My schedule this year includes Advanced Placement Drawing/2D and 3D Design, 3D-1 and for the first time ever I was able to offer an art class for students in the self-contained ASD classes here at school. Outside of the classroom, I continue to pursue the role of educator and artist; I have taught summer art camps in North Carolina and here in Florida for the Armory in West Palm Beach. I continue to create my own artwork through commissioned and commercial works- I have actually created a piece of art every day since January 2012, so at the time of writing this I have made 2985 daily art pieces in addition to hundreds of fashion illustrations and other creations. I am committed to my growth as an artist as well as an educator, which I hope reflects in the quality of instruction that I deliver to my students. I created this document to offer a glimpse of what I do in my classroom, and to document my love for what I do- teaching ART!
Jennifer Love Gironda, NBCT/MAEd Professional Art Educator, LWHS www.jenniferlovegironda.com Classroom Instagram: @studiogironda Artist Instagram: @artbyjlg
Professional Art Educator, 1-2 Student Achievement, 3-4 Innovative Fashion Curriculum, 5-6 Commitment to Service Learning, 7-8 Social Media, 9-12 Press, 13-22
Curriculum Vitae
I am committed to my own learning and growth as an artist and an educator and have been making a piece of art every day since January 2012, and to date have completed over 2985 pieces of daily art in addition to hundreds of other pieces. I often use my talents to celebrate student success, such portraits featuring seniors with their own quotes, and even wearing a custom design created from the class of 2019 seniors to their graduation. I exhibit my work in solo and group shows and participate in local artist panels. I have facilitated workshops in my professional organizations and here at school. In addition, I was selected for a FAAE State Teaching Artist Residency (one of only 5 teaching in the state) and I will be receiving the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County MUSE Award, the Liman Excellence in Arts Education category, in April 2020.
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At the end of the day-, it is about the heART. My class is an inclusive environment where all students can learn to appreciate art and art making. We take challenges such as language barriers, not having money/supplies, disabilities- anything that some would see as an obstacle is fuel for the creation of new solutions. Under my direction, my students have had a 100 percent pass rate on their AP art portfolios (2018-2019), won the Superintendents Greeting Card design contest twice in the past three years, won first and second in the local VFW competition, awards and scholarships including WITVA (Women In the Visual Arts), the Congressional Art show and an Arts for Life Scholarship. In addition, we opened up a section of art class for our students in the ASD unit here at school. The class is called Access Art and it is something I am very proud of.
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A few years ago a student came to me asking to be the advisor for a fashion club, based on her knowledge of my love for fashion and involvement in the local art scene. What began as a club has developed transformative and unique element of my teaching. My students have shown garments in local galleries and at the VIP Opening night of Art Palm Beach International Art Fair, and won numerous awards including Gold and Silver Keys at Scholastics Art and Writing. In addition, last year two students submitted fashion work for their Advanced Placement 3-D Design portfolios and scored a four and a five out of five- this was my first time teaching that specific AP class. I currently have eight students working on fashion portfolios, five for AP submission and three in the Portfolio section.
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I am passionate about instilling a love for SERVICE within my curriculum and in my activities outside of school. I have led art making activities with my students and colleagues such as special hearts to send to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High Schoolcreating over 500 hand sewn, hand-painted paper, wooden, clay and foil hearts to be given out to the students as a show of solidarity. More recently, we handstitched over 160 hearts to send to the Bahamas to comfort those impacted by Hurricane Dorian along with a personal fundraiser based off my own art. LWHS students have worked together to create numerous art displays as a service to the school and community, such as bottle cap art and painting ‘Little Free Libraries’ displayed in downtown West Palm Beach last spring.
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I use social media as a way to communicate with my students, posting information in our ‘story’ as needed. In addition, it is such a great tool to market my program- the kids love seeing their artwork featured. I also keep an Instagram account for my personal art making. I post artworks and happenings daily. My account helps to keep me focused on my own artistic development. My students help to keep me accountable, regularly asking ‘what did you make today, Mrs. Gironda?’ They see that I am dedicated to making my daily art and I feel that this motivates them to produce more and to produce high quality work.
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Screenshot of my school account, @studiogironda
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Screenshot of my art account, @artbyjlg
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My daily art, from 2019. My work is archived in my Instagram account, @artbyjlg.
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2019, Palm Beach Post- Focus on LWHS Service-Learning Project for Bahamas
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2019, Rickie Report- Fundraiser for the Bahamas and LWHS Service-Learning Project
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2018, News feature- MSD heART project
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2018, Art Hive Magazine LWHS student heART project included in article
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2018, Voyage MIA- Featured Artist
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2017, News Feature-art with children impacted by hurricane
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2017, Herald Tribune- FAAE STAR feature
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2017, The Pilot (Moore County, NC)- feature on my daily art making
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2016, Art Hive Magazine- Artist Feature
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2019, The Rickie Report, heARTs for the Bahamas (mentions my personal art fundraiser and my students’ service learning project https://www.therickiereport.com/2019/11/28/jennifer-love-gironda-artist-teacher-inspirer-talks-aboutshowing-gratitude-through-creativity/ 2019, The Palm Beach Post, LWHS heARTs for hurricane Dorian Victims https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/20190923/delivering-message-of-hope-one-stitch-attime?template=ampart&__twitter_impression=true 2018, Voyage MIA, Artist Profile http://voyagemia.com/interview/meet-jennifer-love-gironda-art-lake-worth-community-high-school-artteacher-art-hive-magazine-contributor-brand-ambassador-live-boynton-beach-teach-lake-worth/ 2018, Art Hive Magazine, MSD project https://issuu.com/arthivemagazine/docs/issuuarthive26/52 2017, The Pilot (Moore County NC), Artist Profile https://www.thepilot.com/news/features/artist-with-ties-to-moore-county-nears-goal-ofcreating/article_2550c332-31b1-11e7-b292-7bd06d81f3b7.html 2017, Herald Tribune, FAAE STAR announcement https://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20170723/hermitage-artist-retreat-hosts-florida-teachers 2015, The Rickie Report, Article about my daily art https://www.therickiereport.com/2015/02/16/jennifer-love-gironda-exibits-her-january-series-2015/
Podcasts https://suzanneredmond.com/jennifer-love-gironda-art-teacher/ The Left Brain Artist #5 Jennifer Love Gironda — Prolific Artist and High School Art Teacher #6 How to Establish an Art Practice https://suzanneredmond.com/6-how-to-establish-an-art-practice/ Sept 2018 Art Hive https://arthivemagazine.squarespace.com/podcast
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A portion of the background image for my marketing materials is a close-up of one of my student’s recycled fashions featured at Art Palm Beach International Art Fair! (Jan 2019))