Shelly Clark, an art teacher at Briarwood and Richardsville elementary schools (Warren County), has been named the winner of the National Art Education Association’s 2016 Southeastern Regional Elementary Art Educator Award.

Clark has taught visual arts in the Warren County schools for more than 20 years, primarily as an itinerant teacher in elementary schools.

“Teaching visual art is my passion. I have come to believe in a time when we are bombarded with images from TV, Internet, advertising, et cetera, that we need to be able to communicate in this visual world, understand what is coming at us and how people can manipulate our reactions,” Clark said. “The inspiration and the creativity is absolutely contagious between my students and me. We embark on self-discovery, critical thinking and problem solving that is infectious.”

She will be recognized at the Southeastern Regional Leadership Conference July 27-31 in Washington, where she and her colleagues will be discussing the new national art standards and the future of art education.