Educations M.F.AVisual Arts, College of Art + Design, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA. Thesis Title: Lost Connections and Forgotten Wisdoms B. A. Visual Art Education, Emory & Henry College, Emory, Va.
Fellowships & Scholarships Fulbright Teacher of Global Exchange Fellow2026-2027 Educator Fellow, Birthplace of Country Music Museum2026 Tradition Bearer Fellowship, Bristol Roots Project2025-2026 Guest Critic and Fellow, Clark University2024 Dean’s Merit Scholar, Lesley University College of Art + Design, 2022-2024
Professional Experience Visual Arts Educator, Bristol Tennessee City Schools, Bristol, TN 2018–Present
Developed and implemented art curriculum, visual art, ceramics, design, and career exploration while teaching students across elementary, middle, and high school levels, including summer school instruction.
Served in multiple school leadership roles, including Marketing Team Lead (2018–2024), Virginia Duff Arts Festival Coordinator (2020–2024); and Elementary Athletic Coordinator (2022)
Sculptor and Community Artist Art With Autumn, Bristol, TN2017–Present
Create mixed-media sculptural works exploring Appalachian heritage, memory, and community knowledge. Materials: ceramics, wild clays, plasters, cements, etc.
Facilitate community-centered art experiences that translate lived wisdom into tangible artistic forms.
Guest Critic,Clark University, Worcester, MA2024 Invited to critique student work and contribute to discussions in community arts practice.
Awards & Honors Tennessee Elementary Art Teacher of the Year 2021 Anderson Teacher of the Year2021 Nominee for the National Outstanding Student 2017 Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award
Invited Presentations National Arts Education Association Conference, Graphic Design Tennessee Arts Academy, Graphic Design and Technology in the Art RoomTennessee Arts Educators Association, Tips and Tricks for First-Year Art Teachers Tennessee Arts Educators Association, Graphic Design and Technology in the Art Room
Grants Cultural Awareness, TN Arts Commission Grant2026 Career Exploration in the Arts, TVA STEM Grant2025 Dorothy M. Gillespie Scholarship to the Tennessee Arts Academy2019 Community of Makerspaces, TVA STEM GRANT2018
Select Leadership & Community Involvement Leadership Team, Bristol, TN City SchoolsPresent School Marketing Lead, Bristol, TN City Schools2018-2023 School Athletic Coordinator, Bristol, TN City Schools 2021 Birthplace of Country Music Museum Educators Focus Group2020 Photographer Camp Cliffview, Appalachia Christian Camp2018 & 2019 Alpha Phi Omega, Vice President of Service2016 Wilderness Camp Director, Appalachia Christian Camp2015
Solo Exhibitions Lost Connections and Forgotten Wisdoms, Arts Depot, Abingdon, VA.2026 Construction Installation, Clark University, Worcester, Ma.2024 Natural Beauty of Life, at Emory and Henry College, Emory, VA.2016
Select Exhibitions Outstanding Alumni of E&H, Emory & Henry University2025 Digital Salon, A Disturbance in the Force, Create Appalachia, Kingsport, TN2025 Roots and Wings, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, New Adams, Ma. 2025 Enigmatic Encounters, Create Appalachia, Kingsport, TN2024 Dogwood Exhibition, Knoxville, TN2024 Graduate Thesis Exhibition at Lesley University, Cambridge, Ma.2024 Ag In Art, Fishcman Gallery, Johnson City, TN2024 From These Hills Exhibition, William King Museum, Abingdon, VA. 2023 Influx Gallery, Endless Exhibition, Notting Hill, London2022 Tennessee Arts Academy Guitar Exhibition, Belmont University, Nashville, TN2021 Connections at Leu Center for Visual Arts at Belmont University, Nashville, TN2020 From These Hills Exhibition at the William and King Museum 2019 Exchange 81 Art Exhibition, Roanoke, VA2018
Publications & Interveiws “Bristol Roots Project Fellowship Spotlight”, BCM Museum2026 “Museum Talks with Tobias & Rene”, Radio Bristol, Will Air March 18th2026 “Autumn Roe Draws Upon Places for Inspiration”, A! Magazine for the Arts2024 “Autumn Is an Inspiring Art Teacher”, A! Magazine for the Arts2024
Research Experience Current Research, Art With Autumn Through artistic practice, this work builds community through education and shared creative experience, identifying and preserving the wisdom people believe is most vital for future generations. By translating lived knowledge into tangible artistic forms, the work creates vessels that hold and protect intangible understanding—memory, care, skill, and story—ensuring essential human knowledge is not only recorded, but felt, shared, and carried forward.
Graduate Student, Lesley University, Advisor: Deborah Davidson Lost Connections And Forgotten Wisdom: This research crafts immersive narratives using personal lineage to illuminate ancestral stories, employing fieldwork in ancestral locations to uncover traces of past lives and transform discoveries into quests for hidden wisdom that enable understanding and healing. By incorporating found materials and historical techniques, this practice creates art that resurrects lost connections and preserves generational memories.