Page 56 - South Mississippi Living - October, 2015

LEISURE faith-based blessing
KEEPING
story by Susan Ruddiman photos by Katherine Sowers
alive
he Gulf Coast School of Art (GCSA) was founded to keep the arts alive, and this is what a Gulfport mother-daughter duo are striving to do every day based on their strong faith.
The school opened in 2012 with Sharon Peterson as the co- owner and her daughter, Amber Peterson, as the co-owner/ instructor. Several years ago, as Amber was nearing graduation
from college, she confided in her mother that God was directing her to work in art and teach classes. She came home after college and spent two years developing her curriculum. They searched for a building to open the school, and Sharon quit her job in the medical field because she, too, felt the calling from Christ.
“I was 23 years old and starting an art school for youth and I was listening to God. He was directing me and whatever He would say, I would complete and do,” Amber said. “I found out that art education was being deleted from the schools. That was why He had committed me to keeping the arts alive for the next generation.”
Amber has a natural talent in art, her mother said. She received a fourth place national award for her artwork when she was 16, and pursued interests in music, photography, graphic art and videography.
“It’s a chain reaction — one interest leads to another,” Amber said.
Though she competed in an art contest, she does not do that with her students at GCSA. “We don’t really promote competition. We promote self- confidence, self-discovery and academic success in school,” she said.
The GCSA operates on the same schedule as the school year. Art I through Art IV classes are divided into age categories of 5 to 7, 8 to 10, 11 to 13 and 14 and up. The classes last 90 minutes and are offered after school. Students come from all three coastal counties.
“I keep it at five students per class. It’s advanced one-on-one instruction
Gulf Coast School of Art promotes self-confidence, self-discovery and academic success
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