Step-by-step, Ms. Geluz has found her way to AHS

Ms. Maria Geluz has been teaching art at Armijo for five years, but she’s spent time on campus long before that. “My four children went to Armijo and I got to know the teachers and staff,” she said. “I really enjoyed working here as a substitute and, when an art position came up, I applied.”

“As a substitute, I taught different subjects at other schools in the district,” she said. “I taught Desktop Publishing and Pre-Press Production at San Francisco’s Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) for almost a year.”

Here at Armijo, Ms. Geluz loves talking and making connections with her students. “Making these connections were, and still are, the best part of my day,” she said.  “My experience has been great; I really enjoy getting to know my students and working with my colleagues and friends.”

Though she’s an art teacher now, that wasn’t what she studied at first. “I went to UC Davis,” she said, “although I started out as a pre-med major. Then I realized it was not for me. My other love was design so in my junior year, I switched my major to design.”

Like most artists, she has her favorite medium. “I really enjoy watercolor and mixed media,” she said. “I have a collage-type project that I will start over break: so excited. I also love working with paper.”

While she does like these projects, she does not like to limit her choices. She likes the idea of working with mixed media “so I don’t have to choose,” Ms. Geluz said. “It includes pencil drawings, painting, inks, watercolors, paper, and other materials.”

And while she has a few favorite media, she does not have a favorite artist. “I think all artists offer valuable insight, creative techniques and thinking, and inspiration,” she said.

“If I could not teach, I would probably go back to being a freelance graphic designer. I have my own business but I have been working with a lot of clients. I know I would find my way to working with kids in some way because I love what they teach me, how they see the world, and how they live in the now.”