Mary Beth Haas, MFA

Adjunct Instructor

I have been an artist all of my life, but my interest in the art of teaching was late in developing.

I am trained in multiple artistic disciplines, from metalwork and weaving to computer design and photography. But my special love is for anything and everything a person can do with their hands. I have been called a “fidgeter” and am always bouncing my feet or twiddling my hands. Keeping busy with making art has mostly kept me out of trouble. (Emphasis on “mostly”) I don’t care what it is, I just like to “make stuff.” When I finally achieved my dream of having my own studio, I produced a lot of new work, but was surprised to discover how lonely it can be in a studio all by yourself all day. After all those years raising 4 boys, I missed the constant chatter and chaos. In fact, my best times in the studio were when I taught classes there. Teaching became my obsession.

My undergraduate degree is from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. I have a Master’s in Education from the University of Central Oklahoma, and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Memphis College of Art. I have taught design classes everywhere, including conferences, quilt shops, private studios, public high schools, and colleges.

Teaching has given me an outlet for my restless creativity. The challenge of working with different personalities and abilities is constantly fascinating to me. Figuring out new ways to present materials and concepts to students can be a creative process in itself. And the constantly changing technology that I use and teach keeps me on my toes.

What excites me most about teaching at AOEU is that I will finally be able to teach what I have been doing independently since I was a child. Sharing all that I have learned in my 50+ years of actual artmaking with teaching, practicing artists is a dream come true. My greatest gift is enthusiasm; if I can’t get a student excited about trying something new and challenging, I might as well give up. Being an artist is a journey that is never completed. If you are not working towards some new goal or accomplishment, you are not growing as an artist or a human being. So that is me in a nutshell.