Danette

Danette Exner, who has been teaching for nine years now, is looking forward to this upcoming year. Over the past summer she was part of an art project which addressed issues of violence against women, girls and families, and was produced into a workbook which will be launched in November. She is also excited about traveling to England with her students in the spring and working on her own art this winter. When not working she likes to spend time with her friends and family. Being the oldest of five sibling, she is sometimes quite protective of her family. Or bossy, depending on the day. It's a toss up.

What kind of art do you create?

I mostly like to draw. I am hoping to branch out a bit more and learn more traditional types of things. As part of the art project this summer, I learned beading, batiking and working with fabrics. I would really like to try some traditional art forms and see if I can mesh them with what I already like to do. And along the idea of creating “gifts”. Not necessarily that I will give them all away as gifts, but I like the purpose that they will be shared with someone.

With your trip to England, what are you most excited about?

Bath and the Roman ruins. I love seeing Roman ruins! I have never been to London, so I am pretty excited about that.

I have noticed that over the past few years, Yoga has kind of become a style on it's own. As a yoga instructor, do you see that as well?

I definitely see that as well. Some of it is kind of neat to see how much more mainstream it has become. Even the fashions and they way they are made. Sometimes, you can wear a yoga top with jeans. Or yoga pants can be worn to do something casual, like going out for coffee.

How would you describe your style?

Whatever I feel like wearing that specific day, will match my mood. I could never decide the day before what I am going to wear. I will wake up and think “OK, this is the kind of mood I am in” and I will dress accordingly. And then I usually throw one bit of color in. And it is usually a scarf.

As a high school teacher, do you think students should be able to wear whatever they want, or have more restrictions on what they can wear?

(Laughing) Now that long shirts are in, and super low rise pants are not, I think it is OK to wear whatever they want. It has gotten a little more respectful in the last year, which is really nice to see. It seems that they are dressing a lot more stylish with out looking too risqué.

Interview and photography by Carey Shaw