Tune in to hear Head of School, Dr. Mark Carleton, chat with Lower School Art teacher, Terry Flores, in a new episode which is now live and available for download on our People of PS Podcast. Terry's passion for the arts and love for sparking and developing creativity in children is incredible. Get to know Terry, her background, what she hopes to teach kids at PS and how she is making a difference in the greater Houston community.
Terry earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Houston and her Masters of Fine Arts from Rutgers University. Prior to becoming Presbyterian School's Lower School Art teacher, Terry taught at Veritas Christian Academy and St. Andrew's Children's Place. In addition to over 15 years experience serving as both a Visual Arts teacher and a Fine Arts Director, Terry's work has been on exhibit in museums and galleries in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Texas. Recently, her work was selected by jury to be included in the inaugural NAEA Member Exhibition.
Terry is the founder and executive director of ArtPark Studios, a gospel-minded, non-profit arts organization designed to bring free summer arts programming to Houston's under-served communities. Their primary focus is to combat summer knowledge loss of low income students through community based visual arts projects and creative instruction. In 2018, Terry opened ArtPark Studios with her son, who was 15 years old at the time. Their dream of sharing the love of Christ through creativity became a reality when Terry and her son won a large grant from First Presbyterian Church's Project Flourish Initiative. Prior to COVID, they served over 40 children giving each student 70 hours of free instructional time in a studio setting. ArtPark partnerships include the Nehemiah Center, Spark Park, Texas Art Supply, First Presbyterian Church of Houston, Mayor's Department of Neighborhoods' Anti-Gang Initiative, The Art of Love: Healing for a Woman's Soul and Camp Blessing. Tune into the podcast to hear more about how Terry pivoted with ArtPark Studios during the pandemic.
