“When I discover who I am, I’ll be free.” ~ Ralph Ellison

I was born in Chicago and raised in the South Suburbs, in Markham, IL. I started drawing after 7th grade and took art classes every year in high school. I attended my first figure drawing class at Illinois State University after my junior year of high school and became enamored with drawing and observing people. My high school art teacher, Marcia Skinner, encouraged me to continue with my art. I attended The School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1979-81 and studied under Figurative Expressionist painter Emilio Cruz.

soldier_w_M16_Siloette

I stopped doing artwork after 1981 and enlisted in the Army in 1984 as an infantryman. It was at this point in my life that I decided to spend 20 years in the Army for retirement, then spend 20 years as a teacher for a second retirement. My last life goal would be to commit to doing my artwork.

In 1998, I rediscovered my artistic talents when I was asked to draw a portrait of the outgoing commander. The Army reassigned me to Indianapolis the following year, where I took classes at the Herron School of Art (IUPUI) from 1999-2001. I was reassigned to Fort Benning, GA in 2002, and in 2004, I retired from the Army and became a special education teacher. I graduated from Columbus State University in 2006 with a Master of Education in Special Education. I passed the Georgia art education certification in 2007 and graduated with an Education Specialist degree in Art Education from Georgia State University in 2010.

I became an art teacher at Clements Middle School in 2012. After relocating to Cobb County, I taught art at Osborne High School 2014-18, Garrett Middle School 2018-19, and finally Wheeler High School 2019-2024.

I retired from teaching in May 2024. Let my final chapter begin…

~ Bill Rembert