Greetings, I’m Mr. Thies.  I have been teaching Art since 1986 (just about 20 years).  I started teaching in the Grosse Pointe Public School System in 1987.  My first teaching assignment was to teach art at Trombly Elementary and Grosse Pointe South High School.  During my time in the GPPSS I have had many opportunities to work with many fine people. The teachers, parents, students, and administrators in the Grosse Pointe Schools are wonderful.  A genuine caring and striving for excellence definitely characterizes this part of the country.

My appetite for new experiences leads me to try different kinds of art creation and travel.  I like learning new ways to create things with technology too.  This branch of my web site will give you the opportunity to sample some of my recent and not so recent explorations.  Click the link to look at my portfolio including things from when I was nearly your age (millions of years ago). 

I also like to travel. I first taught Art in India in 1986. It was an amazing experience for a young lad of 22 years old!  At Kodiakanal International School, I had students from India, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Africa, Europe and America. 

This past summer, I traveled with a People to People Student Ambassador delegation to Europe.  We visited Paris, Rome, Venice, Florence, and Athens as part of our educational program. This year, I was actually head leader, so I had more responsibility than I did last year when I helped take ambassadors to Australia. Learn more about the People to People Student Ambassador Program at www.studentambassadors.org or just ask me about it.