Meet the Author
Betty Bott started her career as a graphic designer. Later, she chose an art teaching career, which she found creative, stimulating, and rewarding. Now retired, she enjoys printmaking, ceramics, drawing, and watercolor. As an itinerary art teacher in elementary schools in three different school districts in Virginia, Betty Bott worked with over one thousand students. In her more than 36 years, she met students with varied backgrounds and different levels of talents and skills. She observed that all students enjoyed the creative process, but some students were hesitant to put pencil to paper. By beginning a drawing lesson with doodling exercises that applied different marks to the paper and used the pencil in different ways, students became freer to draw the assigned subject. As a youth sitting in a walnut tree, Betty discovered this freedom when drawing. As a teacher, she discovered that doodling has value. It can connect us to our emotions and improve our mood and sense of well-being. Doodling is an avenue to get in touch with our creative side and a way to freely express ourselves without judgment.
