Crockett Middle School seventh-grade art teacher Priscilla Hernandez has been busy the last 20 years or so, being a mother and educator. But that hasn’t kept her from creating her own work.
Hernandez, who finished her bachelor of arts with a major in art from the University of Texas Permian Basin in December 2021, has been selected for the Rising Eyes of Texas in Rockport, an annual juried collegiate exhibition. The exhibit opens March 4 and runs through April 3. A reception is scheduled for March 5.
She said she was excited about being chosen for the exhibit.
“It just completely caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting it. When I saw that email, I was speechless,” she said.
Her entry is a plaster sculpture called Empathy and Courage and she said it represents what was going on in her life at the time. There are tears on one side of the bust.
Hernandez will take her children with her to the opening with the bust securely fastened in for the journey.
UTPB Associate Professor of Art Chris Stanley, who taught Hernandez said she has always possessed amazing talent.
“Having her hard work and creativity acknowledged statewide is a feather in her cap. As she continues her career as a newly degreed … teacher, I see only great things for her future,” Stanley said in a text message.
“We have such a deep well of talent in the Permian Basin and it has been my greatest pleasure to have been a part of many students’ educational journeys. One of the best things about UTPB is our willingness to meet the students where they are and work with them to help them get to where they want to be,” he added.
Stanley, Hernandez’s parents, retired Professor Pam Price and Crockett Principal Maribel Aranda are among those who encouraged Hernandez to go back to school and finish her college degree.
She has four children.
Hernandez noted that it wouldn’t have been possible to go back to school without her parents’ help and support.
“My father picked up my 5-year-old every day from school the days I had classes and they would care for him when I stayed late and on weekends while I was working in the studio. He still does until this day and waits for me at home with him since he gets out at 3:15 from Reagan and I get out at 4:30 from work. I couldn’t (have) gone to school and graduated without their continuing support,” she said in a text message.
Crockett has hired her on for next year, but Hernandez still has to earn her teacher certification.
“I truly enjoy going to work every day. Ms. Aranda is awesome to work under,” Hernandez said.
“Teaching fulfills me,” she added.
She added that the staff has taken her in as a family member. “It’s just a really good environment,” Hernandez said.
Her daughter, who is in sixth grade, attends school at Crockett, as well, so they go to school together.
Making the sculpture was a painstaking process and now she only has the original. Hernandez has had several offers for it.
She also has created ceramic bowls and an aluminum giraffe.
Hernandez also paints. Her favorite type of paint is acrylic and she paints school doors. For example, she’s painting a book cover at Reagan for when they bring in Margaret Peterson Haddix in April.
“… I like to volunteer and paint. It’s relaxing to me,” Hernandez said.
