For All Access Arts teaching artist Jasmine Jones, a successful art class doesn’t necessarily end with everyone making the same thing. In fact, it’s often just the opposite. “I find so much joy in getting to see people of all ages embrace what creativity is specifically for them,” Jasmine says. Regardless of the project or materials, she loves watching each participant create something undeniably their own.
That perspective has become central to Jasmine’s work as a longtime Arts in Schools teaching artist, but her connection to Oklahoma City’s arts community began more than a decade ago.
As a Frances White Hughes Scholar at Rose State College from 2014–2016, Jasmine began working with the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition as a volunteer for Momentum and 12×12 and as an Artist INC intern. Over the past 10 years, she has become increasingly connected to Oklahoma City’s community as an All Access Arts teaching artist, which means helping people of all ages explore their creative capabilities.
Some students arrive ready to dive in. “Their aptitude truly made an impact on me,” Jasmine says. Others’ breakthroughs can appear in smaller ways, but carry just as much meaning. Jasmine recalls another student who rarely wanted to participate in art activities or complete projects. After she introduced coloring sheets as a low-barrier way to join the activity, that student asked for one — then filled the page with color.
For Jasmine, the moment reinforced something fundamental about her approach to teaching: art doesn’t have to begin with expertise, confidence, or even an immediate interest in being an artist. “I seriously believe that anyone can make art, good AND ‘bad,’” she says. “All art is informative. You just have to sink into it.”
Teaching has also shaped Jasmine’s own development as a professional artist. Being a self-proclaimed introvert, Jasmine says teaching has helped her discover a part of herself that is ready to guide, communicate, and negotiate. “Being a teaching artist fuels my curiosity and helps in my creative inspiration,” Jasmine says. “I’m often reminded that the sky is the limit and you never stop learning, even as an instructor.” She describes her two careers as having a “symbiotic connection.” Her experience as a working artist informs what she can offer students, while teaching has pushed her to grow as a creative professional.
Through Arts in Schools and her broader work with All Access Arts, Jasmine creates room for students to experiment and discover that creativity belongs to them. Sometimes that begins with an elaborate original project. Sometimes it begins with a coloring sheet. What matters is beginning.