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Meet Our Faculty

Sarah Baldwin

K-8 Visual Art Teacher

If you ask Ms. Baldwin what she enjoys doing in her free time, she will tell you hiking, biking, running, gardening, and staying in touch with a pen pal! In fact, Ms. Baldwin has had a paint pal who she would trade watercolor-painted postcards with. 

Impacting Students
One of my favorite lessons is actually a warm-up that I rely on at the beginning of each year because it is a low-stakes, lighthearted partner activity with a whimsical output. It helps students shake off any fallacious expectations regarding what qualifies as good art. Students are asked to sit across from a partner with nothing more than pen and paper. They are instructed to draw one another without looking down at their papers and without lifting their pens. This is called blind contour drawing. This warm-up encourages hand-eye coordination, deep focus, and observation. The portraits always resemble one of Picasso's cubist creations, giving students a good laugh. I like that it helps to set a positive tone for the year.

Lifelong Learner
I've always been a collector. As a child, this tendency manifested itself through collections of rocks, buttons, fabric scraps, and more. I used to keep notebooks full of lists and poems. In adulthood, my collections have expanded to include everything from seeds and old photographs to novels, quotes, conversations, songs, experiences, and more. I am always gathering and learning. Both my artistic and pedagogical practices serve as spaces where my collections take shape in meaningful ways. I am fascinated by the myriad ways in which my childhood curiosities resurface through my artwork and daily life.

Favorite Teaching Moment
Last year I explored the history and symbolism of Japanese carp kites with my first-grade students before making kites of our own. Students explored patterns and symmetry while creating their colorful kites. We completed our kites by attaching long streamers to their ends. Kites deserve to be flown, but it wasn't a windy day. So on a whim, I decided that we would parade our kites around campus by running a lap around Georgia Nelson with our kites overhead. At first, I think my students thought that I was joking. But then we all took off running, and all I could hear were giggles and flapping streamers behind me. We brought our kites to life, and students were able to experience their artwork in its proper context: outside, flying above us all.

Life Goals
Be a good human. Raise good humans. Read everything I can. Connect with others through my artwork. Radiate love in all that I do.

Other Than Graland, I Support…
Our independent bookstores, local artists, small businesses, public libraries, and my community garden.

Also Known As…
VAPA Department Chair, Literary & Arts Magazine Club Advisor

Joined Graland In…
2020

Education
Master of Fine Arts Degree in Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College
Bachelor’s Degree in Art History and Studio Art from Wofford College

Graland Country Day School

Graland Country Day School is a private school in Denver, Colorado, serving students in preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school. Founded in Denver in 1927, Graland incorporates a rich, experiential learning approach in a traditional classroom setting, emphasizing the development of globally and socially conscious leaders who excel academically.