About the Author

Jennifer Ferriday

Greetings from the land of enchantment! My name is Jennifer Ferriday, and I’m the Chair of Curriculum Development at AOEU. I joined the AOEU family as an Adjunct Instructor in early 2020. I fell in love, diving into as many projects and roles as possible, including writing a FLEX Collection, serving as a Student Engagement Specialist, working as a Subject Matter Expert for the curriculum team, and other special projects and experiences. I’m incredibly proud to be living this dream, and I wake up eager, excited, and motivated to work here every day!

Growing up as the daughter of an art educator and artist in northern New Jersey, my passion for and journey into art and art education began at an early age. I earned my Bachelors in Fine Arts with a double concentration in Painting and Printmaking (with a printmaking focus on book arts and papermaking) from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. I then moved to New Mexico, began my life as a professional artist, and soon earned my Master’s in Art Education from the University of New Mexico and obtained my PK–12 teaching license. I now have nearly two decades of combined experience as an exhibiting artist and art educator working in public and private early childhood, elementary, secondary, undergraduate, graduate, and community-based arts programs and schools.

My research and passion reside in therapeutic art education, curriculum, and instruction. In addition to designing art curricula for and teaching in traditional PK–12 public and private schools, I spent many years in nontraditional schools, higher education, and community-based art education roles.

Prior to transitioning to AOEU full-time, I was a faculty member at the University of New Mexico in the College of Fine Arts and co-developed a Healing Arts Certificate Program, where I instructed courses while also continuing to teach K–12 art at UNM’s residential psychiatric center school and adult art education classes at their in-patient psychiatric unit. As an art educator working throughout the entire hospital system with patients, family members, staff, and the general public, I developed curricula and facilitated therapeutic artmaking experiences. In addition, I wrote grants, developed and presented workshops and lectures, and designed art curricula for local, regional, national, and international projects.

When I’m not teaching and geeking out on all things art education-related, you can often find me gardening, hiking, camping, traveling, and spending as much time as possible with my art teacher/glass artist husband, young son, dogs, and chickens. I crave the beach, the mountains, live music, and time with animals. As an artist, I enjoy working in all media and diving into whatever my ideas call for, but I often find myself working with mixed media, ink, colored pencils, and paints. Although I’ll always be a Jersey girl at heart, my soul dug in deep and rooted into the high mountains on the turquoise trail in New Mexico.

Professional Achievements:

Rutgers University – Mason Gross School of the Arts Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree (2002)

The University of New Mexico Master’s Degree (2007)