It’s not an exaggeration to say Colleen Hewitt, or Mrs. Hewitt as she’s known to many, has educated and inspired a generation of visual artists in our community.  She’s taught for 26 years in St. Albert—first at WD Cuts Junior High School for seven years and for the last 19 years at Paul Kane High School.  

Her classroom is as organized as you could possibly hope for an art classroom, but, of course, every nook and cranny is filled with art or art supplies. From new assignments drying on racks, to old assignments on display around the classroom, her class has a very different feel than most others—a space that’s ready for her students to not only learn, but also create. 

There’s a certain kind of irony to her nearly three decades of teaching art in public schools, because access to art classes wasn’t something her schooling provided. That is, until, her final year of high school. 

“I still remember that teacher—Mr. Soars, his name was—because it was such revelation to be in an art class,” explains Hewitt. “I was always drawing and did things on my own, but you’re kind of re-inventing the wheel in some ways doing that. I didn’t know any real strategies. I just did my thing. So having a teacher to say, ‘oh, well here… if you do it like this’ or ‘here’s something to think about,’ or here’s a way to do this or that… I was just astounded.” 

Though her parents are originally from Edmonton, Hewitt grew up in California. They lived in the country outside of San Jose. But when it was time for Hewitt to consider her post-secondary options, she decided to return to Canada, where university was significantly cheaper. She enrolled in Fine Arts at the University of Alberta. Upon graduation, she got a job as a graphic designer and illustrator, enjoying a 12 year career in the field, before returning to school to get her after degree in education.  

“I had often thought that I would be interested in teaching,” she says, reflecting on that transitionary period in her life. “So I taught some community league courses, just because I thought I was interested in working with kids. I love kids. I thought, ‘it would be really a great job to teach kids arts.’ ‘Best job ever,’ is what I thought. And it is! It’s the best job ever.” 

In 2018, she won the St. Albert Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts Award for Excellence in Arts Teaching. Her enthusiasm for teaching keeps her innovating with lessons often spilling out into the community. She works with her follow art teachers to support High Energy, the Art Gallery of St. Albert’s yearly exhibit of student artwork. She’s helped facilitate the creation of work for the Northern Alberta International Children’s Festival of the Arts, the St. Albert Amplify Festival, St. Albert Culture Days and so much more.  She’s even taught her students ice carving in the past.  

“I love to work with other people,” she says, explaining her eagerness to take on new projects and challenges. “I really love the idea of working with other artists and creating a community of artists. I try to talk about that in my classes with my students. You know, ‘this is an art community and you pay attention to each other and collaborate and talk about what you’re doing and share ideas.’”  

She extends this philosophy on collaboration into her personal practice, as well. Hewitt is part of an art club dedicated to helping art teachers find the time to develop their own work and keep current. With her busy teaching schedule, Hewitt is quick to admit it can be difficult to create the space to work on her own art, but she also thinks it’s incredibly important to do so. She jokes that she doesn’t want to be, as she put it, ‘a fraud.’ 

“I’ve always loved drawing,” she says. “I still love drawing. That’s really my greatest love when it comes to visual arts. I feel like drawing is like your fingerprints. Drawing is unique to each artist, their style and the kind of marks that they make. That’s true for painting as well. But for me, drawing is really fundamental—it’s at the root of who I am as an artist.” 

She’s currently working on a series of large-scale drawings, using the smallest of tools: the pencil crayon. And in this way, she is definitely a teacher who practices what she preaches—taking the time to slowly fill sheets of paper that are up to 60 inches long with careful mark making. 

“I joke with my students sometimes about how some days I wish I was an artist up in my turret, in my studio by myself with, you know, my fingerless gloves making stuff and I don’t have to talk to anyone all day,” she says with a laugh. “But that’s not me. That’s not what I love to do. I love being around [my students]. My favourite part of the job is being in the classroom teaching.” 

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