Walk into the classroom of Ridgely Middle School art teacher Raine Valentine, and it's easy to forget where you are.
The gray walls of the school's hallway and the heavy door you push open to climb the dark stairwell quickly become a distant memory upon entering Valentine's room. Here, upbeat music plays softly in the background; an undetermined aromatic scent, perhaps from a candle or incense, tickles your nose; and a colorful array of Valentine's artwork covers the walls.
Not all of Valentine's artwork hangs here, though. Through October, one of her paintings, along with the work of 42 other Baltimore County visual arts teachers, will be on display at the Greenwood Campus of the Board of Education, in Towson.
In its ten-plus-year history, Baltimore County Public School's annual Teacher as Artist Exhibit has become a much-anticipated community event. It gives visual arts teachers — who often are perceived strictly as facilitators of their students' creative pursuits — the opportunity to showcase their own art to the public.
The exhibit displays art done in a variety of mediums, including but not limited to photography, watercolor and oil painting, assemblage, printmaking and sculpture. This year, three teachers from Towson-area schools are participating in the exhibit: Julie Dietrich-Eisler, from Lutherville Laboratory elementary school; Rachel Valsing, from Towson High School; and Valentine.
"Baltimore County Public School teachers take advantage of many professional learning and art making opportunities over the summer break," said Sherri Fisher, visual arts coordinator for Baltimore County Public Schools. "This exhibition gives a venue to that practice of being a lifelong learner and [art] maker."
When she isn't teaching art to 300 or so middle school students during the week, Valentine carves out time to paint, sculpt and draw. She can routinely be found at area arts and craft festivals in Pennsylvania, where she lives just over the Maryland border.
"I feel like when I create more, I have more energy to bring to my teaching," she said.
Trained in many forms of art, Valentine received her degree in arts education and considers painting her favorite art form. Her contribution to the Teacher as Artist exhibit is a painting of the Hampton Mansion. Valentine painted the mansion at the historic site, where she is a board member and an art and education liaison with the nonprofit Historic Hampton Inc.
While Valentine admits that creating art energizes her, she also does it for her students to see.
"I always show them my work," she said. "I do work in front of them. I think that gives them the opportunity to get ideas from what I'm doing, and to see that my process isn't any different from theirs. I've just been doing it longer."
Judging by her students' response, the strategy seems to be working.
"Ms. Valentine makes you as passionate about art as she is," said Sophia Winner, an eighth grader at Ridgely Middle School who earned a spot in the eighth grade gifted and talented art class after seeking out individualized assistance from Valentine last year.
Eighth grader Keara Briggs also has high praise for Valentine. "She's really fun," said Briggs, who notes that observing Valentine create her own artwork makes her realize that there's always room for improvement as an artist.
Whether in the classroom or at an exhibit such as the one currently on display at the school system's administration building, seeing teachers as artists creates positive impressions on students and others in the broader Baltimore community, said Ridgely Middle School Principal Susan Truesdell.
"It allows people to realize the talent we have, not only at Ridgely, but throughout Baltimore County Public Schools," Truesdell said. "And it's just great role modeling for kids."
The Teacher as Artist exhibit, at the BCPS Greenwood Campus (6901 N. Charles St., 21204), is open to the public. It runs from 8:30 a.m.-4:45 p.m., Monday through Friday, through Oct. 26.