For Teresa Emeroff, the “Practice What We Teach” exhibit was the chance to finish some of her own work and experience the joy of sharing it.

An art teacher at Highlands High School, she said she doesn’t get to do that very often.

“I start projects all the time at work that I never finish,” Emeroff said. “But my project takes a sideline to help students. It was nice to have the opportunity to finish something and show off what I’ve finished.”

The Alle-Kiski Arts Consortium is hosting the special exhibit at the Penn State New Kensington Art Gallery, featuring the work of current and retired art teachers in the area.

The biennial exhibit is open for the month of January, culminating in a closing reception from 6-8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31.

“It is important as an art educator to see ourselves as artists,” said Kathleen Morrone, president of the Alle-­Kiski Arts Consortium and an art teacher at St. Joseph High School in Harrison. “We spend so much time focusing on our students’ work, and I think that’s where our love is, but when we see ourselves as artists, it makes us better educators.”

The exhibit includes about 30 pieces from 17 art educators. Many of the featured artists are members of the consortium — a partnership among area school districts and Penn State New Kensington that works to bring art and culture to the area.

But for “Practice What We Teach,” Morrone said, the consortium also reaches out to nonmembers. Artists bring their work to the gallery and then Morrone and Christy Culp, another consortium member, arrange the art for display.

“We get to get together and we see the work and we start to create a show,” Morrone said. “Seeing what has balance, and how we can formulate the walls to best showcase our teachers’ work and also pull out their unique talents.”

Morrone said the exhibit has the added benefits of showing students what their teachers are capable of. She said she was impressed by the variety of work that was gathered for this year’s display. The exhibit included multimedia projects, paintings, ceramics and more.

Emeroff has two pieces in the exhibit: an acrylic portrait and a bound book of 42 artworks, including collage, watercolors, drawings and paintings.

She said preparing for the exhibit inspired her to dedicate more time to her own art and discover new media she hadn’t worked with before.

“I haven’t been that prolific since I was in art school,” she said. “I’ve kind of found my passion again.”

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