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Laura Cheney
Laura Petrovich-Cheney has been the art teacher at Johnson Elementary School in Nahant since 2021. She is an interdisciplinary artist, educator, and writer with a passion for nurturing creativity in young students. Laura holds an MFA in Studio Arts from Moore College of Art and Design, an MS in Fashion Design from Drexel University, and a BA in Fine Arts and English Literature from Dickinson College.
Before moving to Marblehead, she was a National Board-Certified art educator in New Jersey from 2001 to 2 ... read more014 and later taught at Ocean County Community College from 2014 to 2016. Laura also served on the executive board of the Art Educators of New Jersey, presenting at state and national conferences. She remains an active member of the National Art Education Association and the Massachusetts Art Educators Association.
Laura has led art workshops for children and adults at venues such as the Kentucky Artisan Center, the Philadelphia Senior Center, Boston Children's Museum, the International Quilt Museum, and the Boston Society of Arts and Crafts.
Passionate about teaching, Laura finds constant inspiration in her students’ creativity, curiosity, and fresh perspectives. She believes their imagination fuels her own artistic practice.
Outside the classroom, Laura is a full-time practicing artist. Her sculptures explore the intersection of personal and environmental narratives, often incorporating salvaged materials and traditional women’s crafts like quilting, weaving, and needlework. Her work addresses themes of identity, memory, and transformation.
Laura’s artwork has been exhibited across the U.S., including at the Toledo Museum of Art, Berea College, the International Quilt Museum, the Mattatuck Museum, Dickinson College, the Fuller Craft Museum, the James A. Michener Museum, and the Boston Children’s Museum. She has received grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Park Service, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the Clark Hulings Fund, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
Laura also enjoys cooking, volunteering as a Master Gardener at Newhall Fields Community Farm, Lowell Veterans Memorial Park, and the gardens at the Peabody Essex Museum. Her writing has appeared in SchoolArts magazine, and selections from her memoir have been published. She lives in Marblehead, MA, with her husband, dog, and cat.
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