Educator Spotlight: Ann Hartsfield
Meet Ann Hartsfield, creative reuse and teaching extraordinaire! Ann has been an art teacher for six years and is now earning a Masters in Educational Leadership at UT Austin while interning as an AP at Pickle Elementary. She is an ACR devotee and loves to bring reuse and upcycling into the classroom as a way to encourage creativity and innovation. Thank you, Ann, for being a champion for creative reuse! Read on to learn more about her passion for reuse in the classroom.
What first inspired you to start using reused materials in your teaching?
My commitment to using reused materials in my teaching began early in my art education training. In college my painting professor, Tina Fuentes, often reminded us that “the best tool is often not the new tool,” meaning that creativity does not come from having the newest, shiniest supply—it comes from learning to create with what is in front of you. That idea stayed with me. I realized that while purchasing new materials creates uniformity, uniformity was never the goal I strived for in my art room. My students’ best work emerges when they have the freedom to explore diverse materials, make unexpected choices, and “shop” from eclectic collections that spark their imagination.
How do you incorporate upcycling or reuse materials into your classroom? Are there any second hand or reuse materials that you regularly stock?
In every classroom I have taught in throughout my seven-year career, I intentionally incorporate upcycled and reused materials as a core part of the creative process. I regularly stock recycled paper scraps, fabric, cardboard, and other mixed-media items. These materials push students to rethink traditional art making and to approach challenges with innovation and flexibility. When a student has an ambitious idea but lacks a conventional supply, reused materials invite them to problem-solve in ways that often lead to even stronger artistic outcomes.
Have you benefited from any of ACR's educator programs (like the Materials Mobile, Field Trips, or the Educator Extravaganza)? If so, how has that experience helped you or your students?
Austin Creative Reuse has played a central role in supporting this approach. When I opened the jewelry program at Akins High School, I had over fifty eager students and a limited budget. ACR made it possible to build a functional, inspiring studio by providing affordable jewelry display stands and materials that allowed student visions to come to life.
This year, while serving as an admin intern at Pickle Elementary School as I complete my master’s in educational leadership at UT Austin, ACR has once again shown up for educators— they brought the Materials Mobile to our school and provided classroom materials, organizational bins, bulletin board décor, and supplies that make a real difference in daily teaching.
ACR is a true community partner, and my students and I are continually inspired by their commitment to creative reuse and to the schools they serve.