Today we’d like to introduce you to Tori Webb Pendergrass.
Tori, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve always known I was an artist. Once I graduated from Kansas City Art Institute with a bachelor’s degree in painting and drawing, I started teaching. Children’s art is a great form of inspiration for me. Their mark-making and color choices constantly inform my creations. I learned from an early age that art was a great form of therapy. Instead of bottling emotions, I let them tell a story on my canvas. As a teacher, I hope to pass this skill along to my students. While teaching art does incorporate technical hand skills and learning to see with an artist’s eye, I think creating art also enables one to tell stories and evoke emotion.
After teaching for a number of years in various settings, the next logical step was to open my own studio. In 2003, I welcomed my first students to Pigment School of the Arts. In 2015, I acquired the well known University Park art school, Kid Art. Now, I am able to create art with students in two neighborhoods in Dallas. I delight daily watching my students nurture their creative spirits.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
In first grade at The Hockaday School, I was diagnosed with dyslexia, which required my family to build an educational support team for me. Once I graduated from school, I became responsible for finding my own assistance to cope with my learning differences. As an entrepreneur, I surround myself with advisors for additional support, which allows my companies to continue to grow. Dyslexia causes one to be even more creative in finding alternative solutions to challenges. I’m an expert flexible thinker, I’m persistent, and I’m always open to learning new things, and that’s what I would advise any young woman building a brand to consider. It’s important to surround yourself with people who believe in you and your mission. And always trust your guts.
We’d love to hear more about There are two schools: Kid Art AND Pigment School of the Arts.
We offer classes for students from ages two to adult, and at both Kid Art and Pigment School of the Arts, we use only artist’s grade materials. Most projects require multiple sessions to complete, by demonstrating the process involved, in creating treasured works of art. We offer customized enrichment programs to various Dallas schools to further expose young students to the joys of art making. Kid Art and Pigment School of the Arts are committed to nurturing the creative spirit within each developing artist. For that playful spirit to flourish, students need the freedom to explore and a reservoir of skills with which they can express themselves. At our schools, we provide both.
Contact Info:
- Address: Kid Art
3407 Milton Avenue
Dallas, TX 75205Pigment School of the Arts
4605 West Lovers Lane
Dallas, Texas 75209 - Website: https://www.kidartdallas.com/ AND https://www.pigmentarts.com/
- Phone: Kid Art: 214.750.7118 Pigment School of the Arts: 214-352-ARTS
- Email: Kid Art: info@kidartdallas.com AND Pigment School of the Arts: pigmentarts@sbcglobal.net
- Instagram: Kid Art: @kid.art.dallas AND Pigment School of the Arts: @pigmentschoolofthearts
- Facebook: Kid Art: https://www.facebook.com/KidArtDallas/ AND Pigment School of the Arts: https://www.facebook.com/pigmentarts/
Image Credit:
Jan Dreskin-Haig, Tori Webb Pendergrass
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