Artistry and athleticism are equal traits for Amy Potts, who can be found teaching art at Russellville Elementary School during the day and riding her bicycle through downtown in the evening.
A world traveler, Potts makes time when she visits new places, whether it's Virginia or France, for long bicycle touring along with stopping at the available art galleries and museums.
Just as cycling was not her first sport, teaching was not her first career.
Realizing she enjoyed teaching and seemed to be good at it, from years teaching swimming lessons and Sunday school, she left the book-binding industry for the classroom.
When the Georgia college where she was teaching aquatics downsized, Potts moved to Mid-Missouri at a friend's suggestion more than 20 years ago.
She taught physical education, computer skills and art at High Point School before being hired at Russellville 11 years ago.
Taking advantage of technology, she shares various works of art with the class, discussing the realistic, abstract and non-objective approaches. But the real lesson is improving visual perception.
"I tell them art will make your life better," Potts said. "It's about learning how to see."
From grocery store labels to billboards, Potts encourages her students to notice the color schemes and designs in everyday life. And skills like handwriting, using scissors and taking measurements transfer over from the art classroom.
Potts said her students are amazed she does not own a television.
"They always say, "What do you do?' I say, "Plenty; TV pales in comparison to real life,'" she said.
And many might be surprised to learn she has played the Irish whistle with a group for the last 15 years.
Mid-Missouri's rural setting provides wonderful backdrops for cycling adventures, she said.
It also has afforded Potts the chance to teach art full time, which earned her the Middle School Art Educator of the Year award from the Missouri Art Education Association this month.
Potts said she does not miss the urban feel of Atlanta, but she does make a point to visit the world-class museums there when she returns to see her family.
Student teaching in England, teaching English in China and being a tourist in several other foreign countries, Potts says travel has changed her perspective on life.
"It makes Jefferson City that more attractive, because I've been to those places," she said. "This is a great place to live."
But she still has plans to visit places, including St. Petersburg, Russia; Berlin, Germany, and Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
"I just soak up what I can get," Potts said.
That's at the core of what she hopes her art students take away from her classes.
"You don't have to know the artist or how he does it or when it was made to figure it out and enjoy it," Potts said.