Cara Bean is an artist who comes to Lexington High School as a Foundations of Art teacher after having worked as an administrator and educator at the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park in Lincoln, MA.

She is a great enthusiast for contemporary art and enjoys inspiring creativity. As a teacher Ms. Bean believes that every student has artistic ability that can be tapped into and revealed. She believes that cultivating an awareness of art fundamentals is useful to all students regardless of the path they choose to take in life. Ms. Bean is interested in encouraging her students to be patient observers, endlessly curious, and to work hard to reach their expressive goals.

Ms. Bean received her MFA in painting from the University of Washington, her BFA in painting and illustration from the University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth, and she has attended the Yale University Summer Art Program. Her thesis involved observing and drawing the gorilla exhibit at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. Ms. Bean visited with the gorillas daily for three months and made many drawings of their behaviors. Her drawings illustrated their interactions with each other, as well with visitors while inside the enclosure. The drawings helped to fuel a series of lithography prints, a mini comic, some small sculptures, and a large-scale mural that was featured at the Henry Art Museum in Seattle.

Ms. Bean is currently working on a graphic novel about a greyhound and some squirrels. She continues to draw and paint for fun on a regular basis. Her favorite color is green and she is fond of hiking, eating nachos, drinking tea, and listening to new music. The fact that Ms. Bean’s full name is similar to a popular vacation destination did not occur to her parents when they were naming their daughter and was apparently not intentional.



Titles:

Top-Jackie

Middle-Monkey Cafe 2

Bottom-Baby Gorilla