Today we’d like to introduce you to Noelle Hussain
Noelle, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My name is Noelle Hussain and I’m the Studio Manager for Cordovan Art School and Pottery Parlor in Sugar Land, Texas.
Art has always been a part of my life since a very early age. One of my grandmothers was an artist and a seamstress who designed clothing and my other grandmother was the Auditor/Controller of Art Center College in Pasadena. My mother and grandmother took ceramics classes through the Parks & Recreations and created planters, wall hangings and lamps that adorned our house. I attended Art Center College of Design to study Illustration and California State University Northridge (CSUN) to study art education. My courses focused on art for exceptional children, cross-cultural art education, art as therapy courses and advanced studio techniques. After graduation I taught art at public and private schools in Los Angeles for a few years.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
After a few years of teaching, I took a completely different career path and did not teach or create art for several years. I worked as a Government Health and Human Services contractor, focusing on helping families find employment and health services and community building. While it was very rewarding to serve my community, I missed teaching and working with other artists.
Before I moved to Texas, I was employed by a local non-profit which assisted refugees with employment and health services. One of our contracts was a Community based Behavioral Health Stigma Reduction program which provided weekly art workshops taught by local artists leading up to an art exhibit. The art workshops supported self-confidence and provided hope for individuals and their families living with a behavioral health issue. During the workshops I met the artist teaching the weekly workshop and we became friends. During our discussions about art and art education, she asked me why I wasn’t teaching the workshop since my degree focused on art education and art as therapy. At the time I didn’t have an answer to that question but it was the motivation I needed to find my way back to art.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I started my journey with Cordovan Art School and Pottery Parlor in Austin in 2019 as an art teacher teaching classes, camps and after school enrichment at local elementary schools. From the first moment I started working at Cordovan Art School, I realized I had found my happy place. Cordovan has always been such a magical place to me, the environment is filled with positivity, creativity and inspiration. It is a place that unites people of all ages through a love of art.
In 2022 I began a new role at Cordovan Art School as the Studio Manager of the Sugar Land location. Although I no longer teach camps or classes, I still create art by designing and painting many of the studio’s pottery painting samples and I teach new walk-in pottery painters how to get started. As the Studio Manager, I oversee all aspects of our studio from hiring and training our teachers to creating new curriculum for camps to making sure everything runs smoothly. One of my favorite things about my role as Studio Manager at the Sugar Land location is getting to know our students and watching them progress in their skills and gain confidence. All of our studios hold an annual Student Art show during the month of May. It’s a juried event where the students may enter 2-3 pieces, then ribbons are awarded for outstanding works of art. It’s my favorite event at Cordovan Art School because it’s all about the students. It makes me so happy to see students showcasing their masterpieces and proudly showing their friends and family all of their hard work.
What matters most to you? Why?
I highly encourage anyone who wants to explore their creativity or re-ignite their interest in art to come visit Cordovan Art School and Pottery Parlor in Sugar Land. The teachers are talented artists and incredible instructors who have so much enthusiasm towards art education. Several of the teachers at the Sugar Land location have been with Cordovan since the studio opened in 2022. They’re cherished by students who return each summer to take summer art camps or classes with them and the teachers look forward to seeing them as well. Walk-in pottery painting is also a fantastic way to express yourself creatively.
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