work that was made in her class at Arts Alive Gallery in Frisco May 7, 2025.
Kit Geary/Summit Daily News
Students say Summit School District visual arts teacher Sharon Jacobson-Speedy’s level III art class isn’t for those looking for an easy elective, and that’s not what the teacher, who just clocked an 18-year run with the district, wanted to provide.
Junior Carson Earnest said Jacobson-Speedy’s “Level III and Beyond” course opens students up to the nuance of art by making a variety of mediums available to them while instilling the value of structure.
It gives students insight into what a career in the field truly entails and has students working toward deliverables they can actually sell. At the end of the semester, students get to display their work in the Arts Alive Gallery in Frisco and High Country Artisan in Silverthorne. These two galleries are known for housing work from Summit County and Colorado’s most beloved artists, like local photographer Stephen Johsnson and Scott Bullock, known for his “whimsical wildlife” paintings.
on May 15, 2025. She said she was able to explore wire as a medium to create art thanks to her teacher’s class.
The class can help students get ahead on college credits through a partnership with Colorado Mountain College, and it is also International Baccalaureate-credited class and can help students on that track advance as well.
“The goal is that the students have some direction that they want to go, and so this (class) is them exploring (that),” Jacobson-Speedy said.
Students start with a sketchbook to start plotting a plan and have many mediums, including several different paint types, clay and wire. From there, documenting the process is a pillar of the class. Detailed documentation is something most people pursuing art in any rigorous setting will have to get used to, Jacobson-Speedy said. The requirement not only prepares students looking to take more advanced art classes, but also documentation provides a record of their experience creating and is an important aspect of the exploration component of her class.
Earnest said she hadn’t done this in art classes before, but it led her to making stronger pieces than what she would have otherwise. She got to test different mediums, and documenting the process helped her land on which one would carry out her vision best. Thanks to the ample materials she got to tap into and try, she landed on using a type of paint, called gouache, she had never used before.
Students say aside from learning the value of taking a more methodical approach to art, the documentation process taught them the value of reflecting on mistakes and learning from them.
Junior CC Anderson said she’s walking out of the class with better time management skills in general and that the work taught her to balance priorities.
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“I had to figure out how to fit in these three projects in not too much time at all, but I felt empowered throughout (the) process,” she said.
The “Level III and Beyond” course is Jacobson-Speedy’s last after teaching in public education for 30 years. As she eases into retirement, she has begun to get back into making her own art, which can also be found in local galleries. While she may no longer be teaching schools, she might still hold some classes at Breck Create in Breckenridge and the Art Spot in Silverthorne.
The “closing” for her students at Arts Alive is June 1 from 4-6 p.m. The work in High Country Artisan in Silverthorne will be there through June 21.
