Since she had already had a B.A. degree, she just had to pass the GACE (The Georgia
Assessments for the Certification of Educators) and begin a program for certification. Within
four days of “maybe” being interesting in teaching school, she was teaching social studies to a
classroom of middle school students at J.R. Trippe.
Elizabeth never planned to become an elementary social studies teacher, but she had
hoped to one day teach art, although she never imagined it would be so soon. She knew the
art teacher at VHS, Erin Banks, was an incredible art teacher. “I figured she would teach until
she retired.” But Mrs. Banks was also an amazing mother with three young children and had
decided that year that she wanted to be a stay-at-home mom.
When Mr. Sharpe called and told Elizabeth that Mrs. Banks had suggested her for the
position, she said, “I was shocked and grateful, although my next thought was, ‘This is going
to be a lot different from teaching social studies to middle schoolers.’” Of course, art was
Elizabeth’s passion and the best teachers are those willing to learn new things.
In July 2018, just before the start of her new venture as the Vidalia Comprehensive High
School Art teacher, Mrs. Banks, who now graciously serves as Art Curator for the art displayed
at Elements Bistro and Grille, presented Elizabeth’s paintings from her time at UGA. The
showing was a town favorite.
There is a Bible verse that reads, “I pray that the light of God will illuminate the eyes of
your imagination, flooding you with light, until you experience the full revelation of the hope
of his calling—that is, the wealth of God’s glorious inheritances that he finds in us, his holy
ones!” (Ephesians 1:18 The Passion Translation). It takes an illuminated imagination to see the
story of hope and love in an old photograph. Even in the darkest stories shadowed by memories
of loss, there are threads of love. It only takes the illumination of the eyes with love to see a
beautiful thread of love. It’s a thread so full of beauty, it takes the imagination of an artist like
Elizabeth Wolfe to bring it into the light and share its beauty with the rest of us. TCM
ABOVE Elizabeth in her
classroom at the new
Vidalia High School.
40 Toombs County Magazine