Hello everyone! I am Katee Gebo and I'm passionate about teaching art! My number one priority is to nurture the personal creativity of my students and foster their love for art! I want every child to be confident in the knowledge that they are already wonderful artists and have amazing ideas to share through their art! (This is absoluteIy true - I am blown away and inspired by the ideas and creativity of my learners every day!) 
     I have been a certified art teacher for 19 years and have a Bachelor's degree in Fine Art and a Master's degree in Art Education. I am also a working artist. My favorite media has always been oil paint, although I have really been enjoying exploring my work with ink and watercolors too! 
       I love to use art to foster children’s natural critical and creative thinking and communication skills. While creating art, we will also be learning about different artists, historical events, and different cultures.  I believe that almost anything can be taught through art in a fun and engaging manner. I have loved seeing the knowledge, thoughtfulness, communication skills, artistic skills, and creativity of my students blossom during my art classes at Virtual da Vinci Online Art Academy, and now at Outschool!  
          As a teacher, I am much more concerned with the process, not the product. I often focus  on abstract and non-objective art, (especially with younger students) and a variety of artists, so that children do not become overly concerned with imitating the representational art of adults and feel discouraged if their work is not realistic.  I work on skills for realism as well, but I focus on learning how to observe carefully what you really see rather than a "how to draw" or "directed drawing" approach so that children gain the skills and confidence they need to create their own unique art that is meaningful and personal to them.
       My goal in teaching art is for children to learn to view themselves as creative artists with interesting ideas, develop skills and self-confidence in their abilities, learn how to express themselves visually, and to be persistent, make mistakes, take chances, and, most of all, have fun!!!