The end of the school year is a time of transitions for most students and teachers, but art teacher Heathyr Shaw is going through a unique one.

Shaw has decided not to return to De Soto High School next year so that she can pursue her art business full time.

“For a while I have been teaching as well as doing my art business, and with some changes in my family and with how busy I’ve gotten this year, I got to a point where I needed to make a choice,” Shaw explained. “For this season of my life I am going to do my art business full time.”

For Shaw’s art business, called Meadowlark Inc., she creates watercolor and calligraphy art on home products such as mugs and dish towels.

So far, Shaw has worked on her artwork in her home studio, and she will continue to do so for the time being.

Shaw said she might not be closing the door to teaching forever.  

“It kind of just depends on how things go in the next few years, but I really love teaching, so if that ended up being something I needed or wanted to do, I’m definitely open to it,” Shaw said.

Shaw didn’t expect to quit teaching at the end of this year, and she will miss it. She remains open to returning to art education in the future and said she enjoyed the relationships with students that she built during her time at De Soto High School.  

“The thing I will miss most [about teaching] is just being around awesome students everyday. Being around high schoolers is just really fun and light-hearted,” Shaw said.