The sharp ring of the bell echoes through the Northwest art room as students collect their backpacks and venture to their next class. Art teacher Kimberly Ruttan waves goodbye and turns toward her canvas. She reaches into her desk drawer, and a pallet emerges stained with swatches of multi-colored paint.

As kids run through the halls and chat with each other between classes, she flicks and smooths her paintbrush across the rough canvas, slowly creating a new piece of art, 5 minutes at a time. 

“It’s my happy place,” Ruttan said, “A form of meditation, that’s what painting is to me.” 

But painting wasn’t always her passion; before becoming an art teacher, Ruttan worked as a graphic designer. 

“I was stuck in a little cubicle, there wasn’t a lot of movement or interaction, and it wasn’t quite as creative as I thought it would be,” Ruttan said. 

So she began working at a painting studio and was recommended by her boss to become an art teacher. She only needed a couple more art and education credits, so after a couple of years at UMKC, she graduated with a master’s in art education.  

“I love the creativity, and that I do have freedom to pivot as long as I’m within standards, I can change the actual project as suited for the class,” Ruttan said.

The student experience, that is Ruttan’s focus. At the beginning of the year, she primarily teaches technique so that students are equipped to let their creativity shine.  

“I want students who have taken my class to have an appreciation for art; that students realize the amount of planning and dedication it takes to create artwork,” said Ruttan, “Ideally, they respect it and feel confident to produce art on their own, whether it is for expression or for aesthetics.”

As students start to trickle into the room, Ruttan takes a step back from the canvas and puts her palette back into the drawer of her desk. 

The bell rings, and she looks out at the students sitting at their tables.

“Welcome!” she says with a bright smile, her hands still stained with the oil paints freshly applied to the now colorful canvas.