LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
Millie Arp Hamilton is a beloved teacher who has made an impact on many students, inside and outside of her middle school art classroom.
The local artist originally went to college for Studio Art intending to earn a BFA in a concentrated area of art-making and becoming a practicing artist. By the end of her freshman year, she decided to double major in Studio Art and Education and obtain a K-12 Education Endorsement, “just in case.”
“Through a series of life events, I fell into two vacant art educator positions here in Paris,” Arp Hamilton explained. She taught from 2016-17 at Crestwood School before relocating to Mayo Middle School, where this fall she will enter her seventh year of teaching.
“Even though I took a roundabout way into the world of education, I do not think I would change it,” she said. “I believe that my experiences as an artist and as a person have helped shape me into the educator I am today.”
The artist-turned-teacher has found a home in the middle school class room, a place she calls “the best.”
“(Students) are experienced enough to have already tried several types of art, but not all. So while I get to help them practice and hone existing skills, I also get to teach them new ones,” she said. “In the three years I spend with them, I watch them experiment, persevere and flourish. I also watch them make mistakes, miss the mark and become discouraged, but what I love about art is that there is something for everyone.”
It is widely known that teachers are one of the most underpaid careers in America, but teachers make more of an impact in children’s lives than any other profession. Teachers look after children starting at a young age, proceeding through high school and into college.
Arp Hamilton has spread her creativity and imagination through her artistic hands, whether it is a pen and paper or a paintbrush and canvas, she can create any kind of artistic masterpiece and she helps her students bring their own creativity out with art.
“Art is my passion,” Arp Hamilton said. “ Making it, teaching it, witnessing it, learning about it, sharing it... I believe art is what adds flavor, connection and purpose to my life.”
She believes art offers many ways of making, creating and expressing something new.
“I love that different mediums convey different feelings and intentions. My favorite kinds of artmaking include painting (acrylic and watercolor), ceramic sculpture, print-making, embroidery, illustrating with pen & ink and drawing with colored pencil,” she said. “That’s one of the reasons I enjoy teaching middle school art - because I get to do it all.”
While she loves all kinds of art she enjoys teaching clay more than anything.
“I love getting to teach ceramics to students,” she said. “Not only is clay a great hands-on medium, but it has a lot of properties that provide ‘teachable moments’ like patience, unpredictability and flexibility.”
Even after the school year has ends, Arp Hamilton doesn’t have time to slow down. She holds art classes during the summer at the Link Art Gallary. She loves to teach kids about the skills of art in more of a one-on-one position. She says that she likes smaller classes where she can teach her students on a more personal level.
The hopes Arp Hamilton carries for her students are that they find an artist medium where they can express themselves and that they remember. Just because one style of art doesn’t fit them, that does not mean they are not an artist.
“I hope they see how art has something to offer everyone and how much art can impact the people and world around them,” she said. “I strive to expose them to as many art-making practices as possible and give them opportunities to share their art with our community. It produces an appreciation for beauty and the outcome is infectious. I hope they look at the world through that lens; with an appreciation for art and the difference it can make.”
While teaching has made an impact on her students, Arp Hamilton’s skills and personality have also been sought out by the Paris Improvement Organization and other local groups. Organizations across the city have recruited Arp Hamiltion and her skills to create murals and paint windows. Her art can be seen in various locations around town, including the newly installed Paris Tiger Mural near the square.
The murals are just a small partition of the time and energy the teacher puts into her community, recently she participated in various clean-up projects led by the Paris Improvement Organization. She also assists Mayo Middle School’s Redbird Leadership Squad in their service activities, serves as secretary on the Link Art Gallery Board, is an active member on the Rec Auction Committee and is an ambassador for the Paris Area Chamber of Commerce, leading annual painting classes during the Chamber’s Christmas in Paris event.
Arp Hamilton also dabbles in the art of theater. Recently, she participated in the thrilling community theater production of Chicago. She has also participated in productions of Mama Mia! and Guys and Dolls.
“I have been dancing since I could walk and have been singing since I could talk. I learned to sing at a young age partly because my grandmother Pearman was a vocalist, and also because I went to St. Mary’s School for grades kindergarten through eight and we sang at mass every Wednesday,” Arp Hamilton said. “In middle school, we became cantors (the singers who lead the congregation). I still participate in the choir there, which my grandma Pearman directed for years.”
To many members of the community the teacher, performer and volunteer is an ideal role model, someone who has always been destined to find her way into the art world, on or off stage, while making an impact everywhere she goes. However, she says has people in her life that she believes have been even more impactful.
“I am grateful for my two grandmothers who instilled in me the necessity for art and for sharing it with those around you. I am blessed with parents who have always supported my interests and ambitions and a spouse who both encourages and admires me for them,” Arp Hamilton said. “I am so thankful to be continually supported by our ever-eager community and its prioritization of the arts. Visual, musical, theatrical, all of it. The artist in me yearns to travel the world, but I consider myself lucky to call this vibrant little town of Paris, Illinois home.”
If you know a local person, group or organization enacting positive change in Edgar County, nominate them for a spot in The Prairie Press’ “Making an Impact” series. Check out the Prairie Press Facebook page for more information.