We had the good fortune of connecting with Whitney Panetta and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Whitney, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Art has always been a part of my life. I was raised by an elementary art teacher mom and an engineer dad, who was always building something. As a child, I was drawn to art, and I knew early on I wanted to work in the art field as an adult. Initially, I resisted the education world because I wanted to do something different than my mom. I intended to study graphic design when I attended UGA, but in the application process, I quickly realized I didn’t want to spend my days stuck behind a computer in a corporate office. Shortly after, I switched to art education. I taught high school art for 12 years before quitting to pursue my business full time. I now design art curricula and art lessons for other art teachers, homeschool parents, and administrators to implement in their classrooms. Although I didn’t study graphic design in college, it has become a big part of my job as a curriculum developer.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have always had a hard time settling on one art medium or style. I love to jump around and try out new things. Because of that, art education was an amazing match for me. I taught every class under the sun in my 12 years in the classroom, from introduction to art to sculpture to ceramics to drawing and painting to advanced art to Advanced Placement college-level art, and more. In my classroom, I was able to experiment and play with a range of materials daily.

This wide range of experience is also why my curriculum development business has become so successful. In my experience as an art educator, when I was hired for a job, I was handed a list of classes I would be teaching, and that was it. There was no book, curriculum, or course timeline to follow. I had the state and national standards as a guide, but these are incredibly broad and provide no base for projects or techniques. In every class I taught, I had to build the content from scratch. A few years into teaching, I heard about a website teachers were using to sell and purchase education resources called Teachers Pay Teachers (now called TPT). I began adding some of my worksheets and lessons to the website, and they began selling. I realized I was not the only art educator who was provided zero resources when they began. Fast forward 13 years, and I have developed drop-in-ready curricula for a wide range of art classes and grade levels, and I have a thriving business. It took almost 9 years of hard work outside of my full-time job to get to a place where I felt comfortable quitting my full-time job, but now I am starting my 5th year working for myself, and I couldn’t be happier.

I have learned countless lessons along the way. When I graduated from college, I thought I would retire as an art teacher. I assumed I would learn new art techniques and classroom management skills, but these new skills would all apply to my job in the classroom. While I am still learning new art techniques to develop lessons, I have also learned to be an accountant, website manager, social media marketer, graphic designer (for real this time!), advertiser, CEO, and so much more.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I have lived in East Lake, Atlanta, for over 15 years, so I am partial to the east side of town. My itinerary would be constructed around food, and I would plug in fun things to do in between the eating. We would enjoy breakfast at Sun in My Belly, Perc, and Little Tart (which I still haven’t been to and get fussed at by friends for not going. A friend in town is a great excuse to finally check it off my list). We would eat lunch at El Tesoro, Little Hippo, and Genes (and grab some Mountain Dew jello shots while we are at it). We would walk the beltline, grab pizza from Glide, and walk around Ponce City Market, but only during the week; it’s too bananas on weekends. For dinner, we would eat at Poor Hendrix, Sushi Avenue, Little Bear, and Staplehouse. For weekend activities, we would find a festival to attend (because there are festivals every weekend and they are the best!), plus catch an exhibit at ABV gallery (an amazing place to check out and support local artists). I love any event or gathering that focuses on food, art, and community.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Both my parents were supportive of me pursuing an art career. They were there every step of the way as I moved from high school to college to my first classroom. I credit my mom with my love of art and the reason I ended up in art education. I have a lot of memories spending time in my mom’s classroom growing up, feeling very proud watching her introduce art to thousands of students’ lives over the years. I credit my amazing husband for supporting me as I grew my side business. When I first approached him about potentially quitting my full-time job to pursue my business full-time, there was no hesitation, only an emphatic “do it!” Even in times when I doubt myself or the future of my business, he has never worried that I wouldn’t succeed.

Website: https://lookbetweenthelines.com/

Instagram: @look.btwn.the.lines

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lookbetweenthelines

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@whitneypanetta

Other: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/look-between-the-lines

Image Credits
Meagan Brooker, photographer of the family picture

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