Hi! My name is Brennan Frugé and I teach art.

In 2011 I discovered a new passion and an irresistible call to the field of art education.  I have been following this path ever since, attending the University of North Texas part-time while working full-time and starting a family.

Before that I worked in the computer graphics industry.  After earning my Associates degree in Computer Animation, I spent fourteen years as a visualization artist and computer graphics specialist.  Over the years I have worked with architects, engineers, and entrepreneurs, gaining considerable expertise in 3D visualization, video production, video editing, digital photography, and digital illustration.

I left the computer graphics industry to become an art teacher because I believe wholeheartedly in the transformative power of art education and that instruction and practice in the visual arts is essential for preparing our children to thrive in modern society.

About Me

All young children draw.  They do it because they love it, and it does not even occur to them to question whether or not they are good at it.  I agree very much with the quote commonly attributed to Pablo Picasso, “Every child is an artist.  The problem is how to remain an artist once they grow up.” As an art teacher, I look forward to figuring out how to solve that problem.  Also, when children are very young, they don’t worry about being wrong.  However, as children get older, they grow to fear it more and more.  The special and unique thing about making art is that there is no right or wrong answer.  It is our job as art educators to help all students maximize their creative potential.  Ken Robinson defines creativity as “the process of having original ideas that have value” and that “creativity is as important as literacy”, a sentiment with which I completely agree.  Through art education children can learn to generate new ideas without the fear of being wrong.  Interdisciplinary learning is also very important.  People from different disciplines working together to solve a problem fosters creativity and innovation.  When possible, art teachers should work with their peers to connect their art lessons to those in history, math, language arts, and science classes.  We now live in a society increasingly in search of beauty and meaning, one that places greater value on artistry, authenticity, and inventiveness than they do on having the right knowledge-based skill sets.  Those who wish to succeed in the future must develop a number of new aptitudes, including creativity, pattern recognition, storytelling, and empathy, to name a few.  I believe art teachers are uniquely equipped to cultivate these aptitudes in our students.

My artwork has a certain graphical, illustrative quality to it – a holdover from a youthful obsession with comic books.  I am also influenced by artists like Trenton Doyle Hancock, Billy Hassell, Ken Price, and Matt Wedel.  I cherish the art that has influenced me, and I try to demonstrate the effects of that influence in my own work.  I am intentional in my focus on color, shape, and form.  I use bold colors in an effort to explore the associations between color and emotions.  I am very interested in the symbolic use of color by different cultures, and I strive to make use of that symbolism when it is appropriate.  I am fascinated by art as an expression of cultural heritage and love learning about the history of different cultures through their art.  The majority of my work outside of an academic setting has been drawing and digital illustrations, but I also paint, create sculptures, and work with ceramics.  I strive to achieve a certain level of proficiency in each medium that I work with, especially in illustration, sculpture, and ceramics.  In this way, I am able to express my creative vision exactly the way I intended.  I believe the skill used in creating the art should be evident in the finished piece, and I aspire to bring a little bit of beauty into the lives of those around me with my art.  The purpose of my art is to elicit amusement and visual delight.  The person viewing my art should be able to appreciate it without having to figure out what they are looking at and people viewing my art should be able to enjoy it even if they have no idea what the underlying concept is.  Concept is important but not as important as how my art makes people feel.  I welcome and encourage new interpretations of my artwork by those viewing it.

Skills

Drawing

Painting

Sculpture

Ceramics (Handbuilding)

Ceramics (Wheel Throwing)

Printmaking

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe After Effects

Digital Photography

Video Editing

Video Production

Graphic Design

Web Design

Motion Graphics

3D Modeling

Computer Animation

Traditional Animation

Portfolio

Lessons

Here you will find some of the lessons plans and other teaching resources I have created during my time as an art teacher in training.  These are extremely condensed and abbreviated versions of full lessons or Units of Study that I have developed.  If you would like to see an example of a complete Unit of Study you can visit the website I created for my unit on Virtues and Animal Archetypes.

Home

Assemblage Sculpture

Students will identify items, patterns, and/or materials that have contributed to their concept of “home.”  After learning about juxtaposition, multiplication, fragmentation, and rotation, students will use those items to construct a three-dimensional work of art constructed with improvised building techniques.

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Motion

Pixel Art Animation

Students will learn about the history of traditional animation and the visual phenomena associated with it.  Then students will create their own animations using the Pixel Art Maker iPad app.  Once all the students have completed their animations, they will share their work with the class during an Animation Showcase.

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Communication

Pop-up Greeting Books

Students will create simple pop-up books using cardboard, construction paper, and other media.  Their artwork will symbolize words, actions, and emotions associated with greetings, that the students have generated though class discussions.  Students will also participate in an informal critique of their work.

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Virtues

Hard Slab Animal Sculptures

During this lesson students will have the opportunity to connect the abstract concept of virtues to concrete visual symbols they have developed, identify virtues valued and promoted in their communities today, and construct a clay slab sculpture of an animal that symbolizes one virtue they have chosen to explore further.

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De Style

Art Resource for Teaching

A series of textual and visual components to help generate content for lessons on a specific work of art – in this case Kerry James Marshall’s seminal painting, De Style.  This resource provides supplemental information and establishes connections to other disciplines including language arts, social studies, and history.

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Photoshop Fundamentals

Video Series

For this lesson, I’ve created an online video series of fundamental Photoshop techniques that students can view on their own time.  Students will then receive direct instruction in these techniques, in class, and use them to create a digital photo collage combining three disparate elements, chosen at random.

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Resume

Education

University of North Texas

  • Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Art Studies (May 2018)
  • Minor in Art History
  • President’s List
  • 3.9 GPA (Magna Cum Laude)
  • Officer  – UNT NAEA Student Chapter (Spring 2015)

Art Institute of Dallas

  • Associate of Applied Arts in Computer Animation (December 2000)
  • Dean’s List
  • 3.7 GPA

Teaching Experience

Art EC-12 Certified (May 2018)

Observations

Student Teaching

  • 7 Weeks with Mrs. Cacey Narez
  • Lakeside Elementary School (Coppell ISD)
  • completed April 2018

Work History

Perkins+Will

October 2012 – January 2017

Visualization Artist

Produce engaging and compelling 3D visualization for a multitude of architectural projects. Conceptualize and design user experience for interactive mobile applications. Utilize traditional fine art skills, such as drawing and painting, to complement and enhance client marketing materials. Use non-linear video editing suites and motion graphic software to create client videos that captivate viewers and tell a story.

UT Southwestern

July 2009 – September 2012

Senior Administrative Assistant

Support two Sports Medicine doctors and professors with a variety of administrative tasks, coordinate monthly exam sessions and journal clubs for residents and other health professionals, provide organizational assistance for continuing medical education courses held on the UT Southwestern campus, design brochures and CD covers for course materials, procure department branded merchandise for team coverage events and other community events, transcribe medical notes.

moh-ment, llc

August 2008 – January 2009

Creative Lead/3D Artist

Provided creative direction for final video presentations.  Created computer animated short films for architectural presentations using Adobe After Effects and Adobe Premiere.  Produced high quality 3D renderings and animations for numerous projects.

M2 Studio

April 2007 – August 2008

3D Production Artist

Worked as a vital part of a small production team responsible for creating 3D renderings and animations for various architectural projects. Assisted in setting up a 3D-pipeline production process making use of each of our individual skills and talents to more efficiently produce visualizations for our clients. My focus was on the front end, specializing in 3D modeling, lighting and rendering.

BOKA Powell

August 2006 – April 2007

3D Graphics

As a senior 3d production team member, my responsibilities included 3D modeling, lighting, animation, and rendering on numerous architectural projects, as well as assisting and instructing junior team members. I was also directly involved with interviewing and hiring new 3D team members and helping to guide our graphics department into new and exciting visualization endeavors.

Jonathan Bailey Associates

July 2004 – August 2006

Designer – 3D Graphics

Performed a leading role among a group of talented architectural interns and designers to produce high quality 3D visualizations for our clients. Tasks included 3D modeling, lighting and rendering as well as delegation, instruction of junior design team members, preparation of price estimates, server maintenance, and rendering management. Helped to create a robust 3D department within the existing infrastructure of the firm.

Virtual Kitchen Systems

November 2002 – June 2004

Visual Media Specialist

Acted as sole computer graphics professional for VKS. Created numerous 3D animated icons and images for a graphics-based touch screen software interface. Produced designs for logos, PowerPoint presentations and websites and performed website maintenance.

Halff Associates, Inc.

February 2002 – November 2002

Visual Technologies

Worked as an integral part of a production team responsible for creating expansive 3D environments and animations for various engineering projects.

BOKA Powell

June 2000 – August 2001

3D Graphics

Generated 3D renderings for various architectural projects using Form-Z 3.5.0 and 3D Studio Max. Used Adobe Photoshop to composite computer generated images with original photographs. Created presentation boards and title blocks using Adobe Illustrator.

References

Available upon request