Paint the town

Mrs. Binta Smith is a visual arts teacher, new to Salem this year. Throughout her career of 12 years, she had previously taught elective art at Larkspur Middle and elementary art at Three Oaks, College Park, Christopher Farms, Landstown, and Bayside. She then decided to make the jump to teaching high school. Smith connected with her students and colleagues right away, quickly making an impact in the Sundevil community. 

Smith is passionate about art, that of her students and  her own. Outside of teaching all kinds of art, she likes to work on her own projects. Most notably she paints and works with resin epoxy. 

Resin epoxy is a two part mixture of resin and a hardener. It is a strong chemical bond when they become mixed together. It can be mixed with color and poured, or used to bond materials when creating art. She has been working with resin epoxy for a little over a year, but has found interest in it for much longer.

“When creating art, I begin by thinking about the things I am inspired by,” said Smith. “Then I brainstorm my idea, and then I create. The pro is that it’s relaxing and enjoyable. The con is that I don’t have enough time to do it everyday.”

Smith is also interested in working with wood.

Incorporating her passion for teaching and love for painting, Smith also runs her own traveling paint party business. She began her business back in 2018, seeking an opportunity to teach art outside of school.

“I really enjoyed teaching people how to paint so I thought it would be a great thing to do on the weekends and during the summer, “ said Smith.

Smith’s business is rewarding in regards to keeping her busy and creating memories.

“The best part of my job is how excited people are after they finish painting,” said Smith. “Especially when they felt like they weren’t going to do a good job.”

Managing your own business is hard, especially now considering the effects of the pandemic. But, Smith manages to keep it going strong despite restrictions.

“I started my business right before the pandemic so right when it started doing well I had to stop,” said Smith. “However I started doing paint parties over Zoom which worked out really well and allowed me to do larger parties.”

Smith truly makes Salem a brighter place, and brings art to the greater Salem community through her paint parties. You can sign up for one of her classes! She teaches all elective visual arts classes.