The art program at Eureka Springs High School has been a part of Jessica Cummings’ family for nearly 40 years.

So, it was big news when Cummings, who has led the program at her alma mater since 2008, announced she was stepping away from the classroom at the end of this school year to focus on her private business.

“She is one of our most beloved and well-respected faculty members, so it’s going to be a big hole to fill,” fellow ESHS teacher Adam Louderback said about Cummings.

“Whoever replaces her, we won’t be able to hold them up to the same standards because Jessica has set it on fire,” added Eureka Springs superintendent Bryan Pruitt.

Cummings took over the ESHS art program from her father, longtime ESHS instructor Terry Russell, and has helped grow the department into one that is not only respected on campus but throughout the community.

“Eureka, it’s an arts town and she has filled that role and has expanded it even more from when her dad was the art teacher here and has done just an amazing job here with us,” Pruitt said. “Students talk about when they leave here and go to the University, things are way ahead here of even what they’re doing at the University.

“She is a very caring person and wants the students to learn about the arts. Not only learn about it but become a great artist and learn a great skill set.”

Cummings, who is currently the longest-tenured teacher at ESHS, graduated from Washburn University in Topeka, Kan., in 2006 with a bachelor’s of fine arts degree. She is described in an online bio as a “jack of all trades.”

“I have always been an artist and have been totally supported by my family who is full of artists,” Cummings said. “My grandfather, Harold Mallett, was a primitive painter and both of my parents were public school art teachers. My mom is a painter and hand built clay artist and my dad is a ceramicist who does everything clay.

“I tried to escape art when I went to college but I couldn’t deny it, so I ended up majoring in painting and photography.”

It wasn’t a hard decision for her to return to ESHS to take over the art program from her dad, Cummings said.

“When I first started, I was teaching alongside a bunch of my former teachers, which was both incredibly intimidating and inspiring,” she said. “I have been very lucky to have the best coworkers throughout my time here.

“I am humbled and honored to have the respect of these amazing teachers.”

Cummings, who was born in Kansas and has lived in Arkansas since she was 5, attended schools in Eureka Springs starting in the first grade, graduating from ESHS in 1997.

It didn’t take long for her to become involved with the artistic side of the community and throughout the years she has frequently collaborated with groups such as the Eureka Springs Arts Council, various city commissions and events around the city.

“This is the absolute best community to be an artist and art teacher,” Cummings said. “We are incredibly lucky to have such strong support from the town and the school. That support has allowed our art club and art department to experience public and community art in ways that most public school students cannot.

“There is no place I would rather teach than ESHS.”

But now was the time to step away, she said.

“It seems like the right time in my life to start a new chapter,” Cummings said. “I am in need of a change and I feel strong and confident enough to take that leap now.”

She will focus on her business, A Splash of Color Art Parties!, which she started in December 2021.

“I host painting parties at various places around Eureka and do private parties as well,” Cummings said. “I plan on expanding my parties to include many other types of (do-it-yourself) arts and crafts. I am also doing my own oil paintings and commissions through Longview Studios. My work will be at Mud Street Cafe in June and Gotahold Brewery in December.”

Cummings said daily interaction with students will be the thing she will miss the most.

“I will miss the energy and creativity of the students,” she said. “One of my favorite things to do in class is work through problems with the kids. When we work together, we can come up with some of the most interesting solutions.”

One final solution Cummings will be a part of is helping to select her replacement, Pruitt said, and she is looking forward to being part of the process. Especially since she has two kids, Anastasia and Draven, who attend Eureka Springs schools, she said.

“This program has been in my family for almost 40 years and its continued success means a great deal to me,” she said. “I would love the opportunity to offer my continued support through this transition. I am confident that we will find a dedicated artist and learner who will continue the strength of the art program, be a wonderful influence for our kids, and a strong coworker for the Eureka Springs School District faculty.”