Mrs. Jennifer Rodgers, that familiar smile in the art wing, is more than just an art teacher. She’s a dedicated artist with a special message.
When walking into Jennifer Rodgers’ art room for class, you’ll notice she has a slideshow presentation projected onto her huge monitor above the class before every block. If you look closer, you may notice her special mantras written below the daily tasks, like:
The world needs your creativity.
Rodgers, working right alongside her husband and ceramics teacher Mr. Scott Rodgers, teaches the Art 1, Art 2, and Art 3 courses as well as AP Art and Design. She attended Moore College of Art and Design for an undergraduate degree in printmaking.
“I started off as a drawing major because I loved drawing,” Rodgers said. “And then I quickly realized that that’s great… but I should learn some newer things. So I made the big leap to printmaking, which very much uses drawing in it, but you’re learning other skills, other tools, other pieces of equipment.”
Rodgers finds herself following all kinds of artistic passions now since her college days, not just in printmaking, but knitting, drawing, and, more recently, painting. Since March of last year, she has been working on a series of very personal paintings related to her own mental health journey.
“My whole goal of making this art is really to help end the stigma and to help break down the barriers surrounding mental illness so that we can start to talk about it more comfortably,” Rodgers said. “I am kind of painting my way through my plan of all these different paintings exploring different facets of mental health.”
Rodgers has been an avid creator since she was little, and now finds her artmaking not only motivated by her personal goals of making a difference, but also working with teenagers every day and continuing to inspire them to use art as a strong creative outlet.
“[Rodgers] is very supportive with everyone’s ideas, and no matter what you’re trying to do, she’s helping with it,” Rodgers’ student and senior Fletcher Noto said.
One of the benefits of Rodgers’ support for her students comes from her willingness to share her experiences and be open about her struggles.
“I think it’s good for [her students] to see how she puts her sadness and her pain and her trauma into her work,” Scott Rodgers said. “I think it makes it very powerful.”
Rodgers finds that art has given her an expansive opportunity to express herself.
“Sometimes it’s difficult to find the words to say to express myself, but I can do it much more easily in a painting or a drawing,” Rodgers said. “I also like where my mind goes [when creating]. I can kind of just feel myself settle into this other part of my universe.”
She encourages students looking to get into art and who are already artists alike to find their creative voice and allow their emotions to flow into their creativity.
“Just do it. Really. Do it,” Rodgers said. “There’s a whole creative world out there filled with beautiful, creative people, and [it gives a chance] for you to surround yourself with them.”
Rodgers’ painting “Generalized Anxiety Disorder-GAD (Anxiety)” is on display at The Gallery at Delaware County Community College in the show “215|610 CONTEMPORARY Juried Exhibition of Regional Emerging Artists” from February 23–April 3, 2026.
