Meet Ellen Bruex. When Ellen was in second grade, she told her mom she was going to grow up to become an art teacher. Today, Ellen is an interdisciplinary artist, educator, and lifelong learner dedicated to bringing people together through a variety of artistic mediums and practices in North Central Washington. 

“I’ve always known I was going to be an art teacher,” Ellen shared. In high school, the art department became Ellen’s sanctuary after her best friend passed away in tenth grade. “I had a free pass that I could go to the art room whenever I needed to and that altered the course of my life.” She credits her high school art teacher with encouraging her to follow her own unique path. 

Ellen studied K-12 art education at Kendall College of Art and Design in Michigan. “I always said I really like people and I really like art, so I wanted to do something that combined both. Teaching art seemed like the natural step, and I loved art school.” However, Ellen soon found herself at a crossroads after a challenging student teaching experience where her time was split between different public schools, and she questioned whether she wanted to continue teaching art. “I had a lot of questions, and I had recently ridden my bike across the country one summer in college,” Ellen recounted. She decided to follow her own path and rode her bicycle from San Diego to Virginia Beach after she graduated with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in K-12 Art Education. The following year, she did another cross-country trip from Seattle to New York City, which is how she eventually relocated to Washington state. 

“I didn’t go right into teaching after college. I kind of got an adventure bug, and I followed my older brother to Colorado,” she said. After Ellen moved to Colorado, she got a grant-funded job managing an after-school arts program with the local YMCA. “I was loosely connected to art. It was art education, but it was community-based, and I really liked that work.” Once the grant ended, Ellen felt she still wasn’t ready to go back to school full time, so she moved to North Central Washington instead. 

When she felt prepared to try teaching art again, Ellen discovered there were no open art teaching positions when she moved to the Wenatchee Valley in 2015. She got her foot in the door as an after-school coordinator at Mission View Elementary School, began working as an art teacher at Pioneer Middle School the following year, and eventually became a full-time art teacher at Wenatchee High School. “In the midst of all of that, COVID happened,” Ellen said. Art faculty at Wenatchee Valley College knew of Ellen through her teaching at the high school, and Professors Scott Bailey and Natalia Dotzauer brought her on board as a part-time faculty member to teach art history online. 

Once classes returned to in person, Ellen began teaching drawing and art history at WVC while she pursued her master’s degree. She has gone on to also teach mural painting and figure drawing. Ellen’s experience teaching art at every education level uniquely prepared her for teaching Running Start students, Continuing Education students, and students from nontraditional backgrounds at WVC. “I really like seeing people’s different attitudes toward art at different stages in their life,” she reflected. “I really believe that art is a learnable skill. Having taught almost all ages, I can definitely say that is true, and it’s one of my biggest takeaways that makes me really excited about art, creative thinking, art appreciation, and art as a lens through which you view the world. It’s all a learnable skill.” 

Ellen believes in working alongside her students and has seen the benefits to her own art practice. “It keeps me in the practice of all the things that I like doing,” she said. “It keeps me excited about art because I’m talking about it a lot with students, I’m researching art. I’m looking at what artists are doing now, and that informs my own art. Having a reason to stay up on my skills is really important [and] keeps me going.” She views teaching as a creative art form as well. 

Building a community-informed art practice and teaching style is at the heart of Ellen’s art education philosophy. “One of the things that excites me most about art is the way that it connects people. I really like seeing students when they really get something or they’re like ‘I could do this.’ This happens a lot with adult students at the community college [level], and it’s a real honor to be that connection point for them to make meaning in some way in their life through art.” 

Former students like Sarah Sims have become important artistic collaborators. “[Sarah] took the mural class and really ran with it, and [she] has done lots of her own murals. It’s such an honor for me to get to be a cheerleader for people because I had art teachers who did that for me starting in high school,” she said. WVC’s art department chair Professor Scott Bailey is another champion of Ellen’s work. “He’s been a huge cheerleader in believing in me. I just want to do that for other people, too.” 

“One of the coolest things that I see in my studio classes are the soft skills that come from taking studio classes,” Ellen said. As a professor, Ellen sees students developing confidence as they tackle projects they didn’t think they were capable of doing. “I see them believe in themselves because they rise to the occasion. Art gives you the opportunity to believe in yourself and see growth. In figuring drawing, I see a lot of people build confidence in themselves and apply that to other facets of life. Like, if I just practice, I will see improvement little by little.” 

Ellen’s work as a muralist began in earnest in 2019, when she assisted another artist in painting the mural on the exterior wall of the Fable Books + Blooms building. In early 2025, the City of Wenatchee called for proposals to improve the pedestrian experience between downtown Wenatchee and the waterfront. Ellen submitted her portfolio, advanced as a finalist, and had her proposal selected by the Arts, Recreation and Parks Commission. This summer, Ellen completed the immersive mural project for the City of Wenatchee on Orondo Avenue, leading from Wenatchee’s downtown to Pybus Public Market. Four former students, Sarah Sims, Betsy Watters, Jessica Watson, and Jasmine AbouAmmo, assisted Ellen in painting the three-block mural.

“I’ve been inspired watching people interact with the mural as I’ve been working on it,” Ellen said. She sees art, and specifically murals, as an opportunity to invite people to have a moment or delight, joy, or whimsy in their lives as they move through space. “I want my art to facilitate connection or make people think about their experience in the world in a different way.” Ellen has been a familiar sight on Orondo Avenue this summer, painting blue heron cranes, lupine, and local iconography of the Wenatchee Valley, in addition to launching a summer arts camp for kids with Ari Shore from Crowded Table Craft at Artworx. 

In September, Ellen’s work will be featured in two exhibits in Wenatchee. Her solo show “A Piece of Downtown” opens on September 2 at the Art Alley at Pybus Public Market. Ellen’s work will also be featured in the 2026 WVC Art Faculty show at the MAC Gallery at Wenatchee Valley College. Both exhibits will be open to the public for Wenatchee First Fridays on September 4. 

Community members interested in taking a class with Professor Ellen Bruex are invited to register for her renaissance art history and figure drawing classes this fall. Her popular mural class will return in spring 2027. This spring, WVC students consulted with departments across the Wenatchee campus to bring vibrant designs to life in student spaces like the STEM Tutoring Center, offices, and outside of buildings. 

Ellen invites our community to access art in their everyday life through her work as an educator, artist, and collaborator. “There’s a lot of community opportunity [at WVC],” she said. “I wish people knew that they can take classes, not just in the art department, but in a lot of different areas without being an enrolled student. We’re a community resource.” 

To view more of Ellen’s portfolio, visit www.ellenbruex.com. To learn more about Wenatchee Valley College’s art courses, visit the WVC Art page.