Artist Statement
Within the past few years, I have come to know myself and accept myself for who I am. I am a creative individual. Art, for me, is more than communication; it unlocks my creative spirit and my unconscious. Colors speak their own language to me. Images come alive on the canvas. It is important not just for me, but for others as well, that they get something from my paintings – that they become engaged with the artworks. Meaning, important for me, hopefully will be important for others.
This is why I paint.
Teaching Statement
I believe an art education helps individuals experience a wholeness of self. This philosophy informs and defines my teaching with children, teens and adults. I have been a substitute teacher, teaching elementary art in the school system in East Lyme, Connecticut. I have also taught art to elementary students at the Discovery Museum in Bridgeport, Connecticut, including urban outreach in the area. Along these lines, I have also taught art at an inner-city youth center for troubled young teenage girls. I have privately mentored and taught art to children and adults. This has included teaching basic art and drawing classes to adults at the Sterling House Community Center in Stratford, Connecticut. And as part of the Activities Department at a nursing home in Millersburg, Pennsylvania, I have taught watercolor classes to the seniors there. Although I am not an art therapist, I incorporated several concepts from art therapy when working with these seniors.
I am a proponent of life-long learning. This is why I believe that community colleges are such important centers for learning for adults of all ages, especially for older Americans. Age should not matter when it comes to an education in the fine arts, specifically visual art.
I completed my Master of Fine Arts Degree in Visual Art, at Wilson College, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, where I participated in an interdisciplinary program. This program showed me that disciplines such as dance, music, creative writing, performance art, photography, and ceramics have more in common than not. As artists in these disciplines, we possess the same creative spirit. I have learned how to collaborate, how to move, and how movement informs the body so that I am grounded in self, space, and place. Attending to my breath has led to personal reflection and an awareness of self. Learning to paint in a quiet environment has transformed that which had been silent within me into a voice that could finally be heard. These are variable concepts I can utilize in teaching art.
My life experiences have inspired my creative abilities. This treasure trove of memories and experiences is a valuable asset to teaching visual art. I have also managed an art gallery, and owned and operated my own art gallery, in Connecticut. In exhibitions in New England, I have won prizes in several juried shows.
There is no better venue than taking an art course for discovering yourself. Art instills confidence, exposes artistic abilities, and lets us find the connections to self, others, and the modern world. Practicing art deepens introspection, leading to the wholeness of ourselves. Threads connect with more than just reality. You don’t have to be an abstract artist like Jackson Pollock to delve into the unconscious.
These are art experiences I look forward to sharing with others. But there is so much more to teaching art. I can help students learn not just art – how to paint and draw – but also help them learn who they are and who they can become through art. That makes all the difference in the world. That is what makes us whole.
Within the past few years, I have come to know myself and accept myself for who I am. I am a creative individual. Art, for me, is more than communication; it unlocks my creative spirit and my unconscious. Colors speak their own language to me. Images come alive on the canvas. It is important not just for me, but for others as well, that they get something from my paintings – that they become engaged with the artworks. Meaning, important for me, hopefully will be important for others.
This is why I paint.
Teaching Statement
I believe an art education helps individuals experience a wholeness of self. This philosophy informs and defines my teaching with children, teens and adults. I have been a substitute teacher, teaching elementary art in the school system in East Lyme, Connecticut. I have also taught art to elementary students at the Discovery Museum in Bridgeport, Connecticut, including urban outreach in the area. Along these lines, I have also taught art at an inner-city youth center for troubled young teenage girls. I have privately mentored and taught art to children and adults. This has included teaching basic art and drawing classes to adults at the Sterling House Community Center in Stratford, Connecticut. And as part of the Activities Department at a nursing home in Millersburg, Pennsylvania, I have taught watercolor classes to the seniors there. Although I am not an art therapist, I incorporated several concepts from art therapy when working with these seniors.
I am a proponent of life-long learning. This is why I believe that community colleges are such important centers for learning for adults of all ages, especially for older Americans. Age should not matter when it comes to an education in the fine arts, specifically visual art.
I completed my Master of Fine Arts Degree in Visual Art, at Wilson College, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, where I participated in an interdisciplinary program. This program showed me that disciplines such as dance, music, creative writing, performance art, photography, and ceramics have more in common than not. As artists in these disciplines, we possess the same creative spirit. I have learned how to collaborate, how to move, and how movement informs the body so that I am grounded in self, space, and place. Attending to my breath has led to personal reflection and an awareness of self. Learning to paint in a quiet environment has transformed that which had been silent within me into a voice that could finally be heard. These are variable concepts I can utilize in teaching art.
My life experiences have inspired my creative abilities. This treasure trove of memories and experiences is a valuable asset to teaching visual art. I have also managed an art gallery, and owned and operated my own art gallery, in Connecticut. In exhibitions in New England, I have won prizes in several juried shows.
There is no better venue than taking an art course for discovering yourself. Art instills confidence, exposes artistic abilities, and lets us find the connections to self, others, and the modern world. Practicing art deepens introspection, leading to the wholeness of ourselves. Threads connect with more than just reality. You don’t have to be an abstract artist like Jackson Pollock to delve into the unconscious.
These are art experiences I look forward to sharing with others. But there is so much more to teaching art. I can help students learn not just art – how to paint and draw – but also help them learn who they are and who they can become through art. That makes all the difference in the world. That is what makes us whole.