Ms. Novocin brings her positive, upbeat, and creative energy to American’s art program
LeAnn Liu
Staff Writer
Growing up, she may not have had a lot, but the Delaware-raised artist was not going to let that stop her from exercising her creative spirits.
“I got my dog and I tied a rubber band around his fur and I cut it off so I could make a paintbrush,” she recalled.
Don’t worry, no dogs were harmed in the making of Ms. Novocin’s, a new art teacher’s, paintbrush that would allow her to pursue her passion for creating things.
“I see the world a little bit differently than many people and I want to share that with everybody, to see the little things.”
However, her vision is not limited to painting. She loves making her own Halloween costumes. In past years, she has coordinated her costumes with her husband. Together, they have been a Double Dare team and a pair of dice. This year, she wants to be the porg from the upcoming Star Wars movie. That is, if she gives herself enough of a head start.
“I fly by the seat of my pants with most things in my life. I’m a procrastinator– it’s bad,” said Ms. Novocin, who also describes herself as “very disorderly.” “I’m totally relatable to the students in that way.”
When she is putting off her next great Halloween costume, she can be found playing video games or scrolling through the internet’s supply of memes.
“I’m active in internet culture.” Ms. Novocin said. Her favorite memes include Kermit, Success Kid, and especially Bubble Girl.
“I love this one so much. I feel like it’s me.”
She has never been afraid to show off her true colors either. She loves to say “ermahgerd” rather than “oh my god,” even when it provokes curious looks.
“Sometimes kids get it when I do it and sometimes they are horrified.”
Ms. Novocin understands that everyone has their idiosyncrasies and that no one should be ashamed of it.
“I try to make an environment where everybody can feel welcomed to share their artwork and I do everything I can to make it a positive experience.”
Besides just making students comfortable with their ideas, she ensures that a student’s thoughts can be transformed into a real-world object.
“The design I chose for me at one point … was too hard at a starter level but she helped me so much to pursue that,” described Krina Shah (11), an architecture student.
In addition, Ms. Novocin makes sure no one is left behind.
“I wasn’t sure what I should draw and I was really behind [from] other students in class,” said Arti Naik (11), an art student, “She gave me encouragement and advice about how I should draw it. It made me not feel bad about my own artwork because I was comparing myself to other people’s work.”
As Ms. Novocin says, “it’s never too late” to start putting your name out there in the art industry. While she never pursued art as a professional career, she has a portfolio of work available for others to see. One of which is a traffic signal box on the intersection of Blacow and Mowry.
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