Welcome!

Hello Students!

My name is Mr. Scott Shaffer. I want to give you a little bit of background of who I am.

I was born in Reno Nevada and moved back and forth from Utah and Nevada through my childhood. I graduated from Robert McQueen High School in Reno. While I was in high school I made sure I was active in Art and other activities like Band and weightlifting.

I have been practicing art since 2007 and absolutely love teaching it.

I completed my first book in 2014. It's called "Somebody's Mother." It is a retelling of 19th Century poem by Mary Dow Brine.

Teaching has always been part of my life. I was raised by a teacher, I married a teacher, and became a teacher. This wasn't always the case though. I went to school for a long time to become a medical illustrator. I love the human body and everything about it.

However, as a medical illustrator I wasn't able to reach out to people as much as I would like. I wanted to talk with others and make a difference in young people's lives. My beautiful wife told me something I will never forget. She said, "I would rather have a poor and happy husband than a rich and miserable one." With that said I decided to become a teacher and have loved it ever since. Plus I still get to make my own art as I teach. I feel in order to be an effective art teacher, I need to be a practicing artist. Feel free to look at some of my work in my gallery.

I'm excited to be your teacher this year and hope that you enjoy your time as we explore the

Tools, Techniques, Value, and History of Art.

Turin, 1837-39. Lithograph. National Library of Medicine