Meet out Team: Staff feature

Sherri Norton, Teacher

Sherri has been teaching camps and birthday parties with UpCycle Creative Reuse Center since 2022. She has 15 years experience as a preschool teacher and process art preschool teacher. Sherri also has a BA in Interior Design and an MA in Computer Graphics. She is married with two adult children (ages 21 and 18).

Tell us a little about yourself.
I grew up in an Airforce family. I was born in Turkey, lived in Massachusetts, New Mexico, Greece, Germany, England, Maryland, Florida, and Louisiana before getting married and moving to Virginia. I love being outdoors and photographing or picking up amazing objects I find in nature. I also enjoy reading novels, especially historical fiction and mysteries, and traveling to see new places.

What do you love most about teaching at UpCycle? 
Working with many young artists from a variety of backgrounds.

What are you most excited about for this year’s summer camp at UpCycle? 
I’m looking forward to creating with young artists for 5 days in a row and having the abundant time to spend on art making with them.

Share a fun UpCycle memory. 
We wrapped yarn dipped in glue around balloons and let it dry overnight. The next day everyone was so excited to pop the balloons and see our balloon shaped sculptures. Instead of holding its shape, the yarn slowly collapsed inward, which wasn't what we expected but was interesting all the same.

What’s your favorite reusable material? Why? 
Cardboard - it can be used for so many things! It’s a surface to paint on, can become a sculpture, you cut into pieces for printmaking or cut and hang for mobiles…and so much more.

If you could have only one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? 
Artichoke

What’s your (current) favorite book?
When you Wonder, You're Learning: Mister Rogers' Enduring Lessons for Raising Creative, Curious, Caring Kids by Gregg Behr and Ryan Rydzewski
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What’s your superpower? 
Visual-spatial understanding - I'm really good and fast at solving puzzles and always draw out what I am thinking.