About

Paige N. Colwell

“As artists, we know the many reasons that art is integral to humanity. As educators, it’s our job to advocate for it in our student’s lives. As members of our communities, it’s our responsibility to see that it is available to any child who wants it.” 

Paige grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As the child of a single mom, she spent a lot of time with her grandmother, who was an artist herself. From a young age, Paige was learning watercolor, sculpting, and sewing. She attended public magnet schools, which gave her access to arts education from first grade through high school.

Paige graduated from Memphis College of Art in 2012 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration. While in college she designed and produced clothing and merchandise for local Memphis musicians. After college, she moved to New York, where she became a freelance illustrator and designer.

From 2013 to 2014 she worked as an administrator for Poppington Gallery on the Lower East Side, designed and produced clothing and merchandise for Chrissy Lampkin and Dame Dash, and designed album covers for Apollo Main. She moved back to Louisiana in 2014 and continued her freelance career.

Paige owned and operated a graphic t-shirt company called Avery Paige Designs from 2015 to 2017. Her company raised the funds through t-shirt sales that paid for the March for Science in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Shreveport, and Monroe. While running her company she taught private art lessons to students without art programming in their schools. That experience led her to discover her passion for art education.

Her official teaching career started as an administrator for 7 Elements Fine Arts School. From there she taught at McKinley Middle Magnet as a Painting, Drawing, and Animation instructor. With help from the incredible team of art educators at McKinley, she developed an award-winning program.

Paige was a public school teacher in East Baton Rouge Parish for five years. During that time she was recognized by the school board twice, named Teacher of the Year in 2019, elected to represent teachers across Louisiana at the National Education Association Representative Assembly, and elected to the board of the Louisiana Art Education Association. She helped develop a hybrid and virtual curriculum for art teachers during COVID, helped rewrite and implement a new art curriculum for East Baton Rouge Parish, and trained EBR art teachers through workshops and professional development. She was the first EBR employee to become Minecraft Certified and begin using Minecraft in the classroom.

In 2022 she was one of 75 art teachers in the nation chosen by Crayola and the National Art Education Association as a Creativity Ambassador, taking part in arts-centered leadership training.

In 2023 Paige earned her Master of Arts in Art Education from the University of Florida. Her capstone research examined the working conditions behind art teacher burnout and attrition, and she shares the findings and recommendations here on her site. She returned to the classroom at Gonzales Middle School, where she developed a high school-credited Art I course and secured grant funding for printmaking.

Today, Paige serves as President of the Louisiana Art Education Association, where she was honored in 2026 with the Distinguished Service Within the Profession award. She contributed to drafting the requirements for Louisiana’s State Seal of Fine Arts and has led statewide professional development conferences for art educators. After leaving the K-12 classroom in 2026, she now works as an Academic Assistant at Louisiana State University Alexandria, and her focus is on higher education and nonprofit work. Paige remains a fierce advocate for students, educators, and the arts, and stays involved with community art projects in Baton Rouge.