Teaching Artist/Illustrator

Profile
Teaching artist with ten years of residency experience with students of all ages, backgrounds, and needs, with a concentration on employing enjoyable visual arts projects and exercises in a safe and creative environment, producing satisfying learning results within an established school curriculum or organization’s area of interest.

Areas of Expertise
• Student production of individual and collaborative visual arts projects to create single or multiple artworks that may incorporate curriculum content.
• Visual art exercises to develop art techniques and familiarity with art tools.

Education/Training

• Annual teaching artist training with Studio in a School, New York, NY, Marquis Studios, Brooklyn, NY, and Community Word Project, New York, NY.
• 2014 – three day teaching artist training with Everyday Arts for Special Education (EASE) to facilitate working with students who have special needs, New York, NY.
• 2013 – teaching artist training with children on the autism spectrum through the Marquis Studio/PS 37 Teaching Artist Training Institute, Staten Island, NY.
• 2010 graduate of the Community Word Project’s Teaching Artist Training and Internship Program, New York, NY, and the Staten Island Teaching Artists Institute.
• Summa Cum Laude graduate of Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York. B.F.A. in Communications Design/Illustration.

Employed as a Teaching Artist (current and past) by:

• Arts for All
• Arts Horizons
• Community Word Project
• Everyday Arts for Special Education
• IlluminArt Productions
• Marquis Studios
• SMB Studio Arts Inc.
• Staten Island Arts
• Studio in a School
• Sundog Theatre
• The Art Lab
• The Center for Arts Education
• The Staten Island Children’s Museum
• Wingspan Arts

Teaching Experience (selected)
• Winter/Spring 2019 PS 57R and PS 10R, The Hubert H. Humphrey School and the Fort Hill Collaborative Elementary School Staten Island, NY – Teaching Artist – Ten sessions and four sessions of puppet-making connected to a theater performance with fourth grade students under the auspices of Marquis Studios.

• Winter/Spring 2019 PS 45R, The John Tyler School Staten Island, NY – Teaching Artist – Ten sessions of collage and painting exploration with Pre-K, K, first, and second grade students under the auspices of Marquis Studios.

• Spring 2018 PS 45R, The John Tyler School Staten Island, NY – Teaching Artist – Ten sessions with second grade students under the auspices of Marquis Studios; using celluclay and various other art materials and techniques to create and perform with puppets based on fairy tale characters.

• Spring 2018 PS 65R, The Academy of Innovative Learning Staten Island, NY — Teaching Artist – Two six week and one 10 week residency with kindergarten through fifth graders working with oil pastels, charcoal, and wood construction on the subjects of mythology, self-portraits, and community, respectively, under the employment of Studio in a School, with an emphasis on improving literacy.

• May 2013 – Present PS 4R, Maurice Wollin School, PS 69R, Daniel D. Tompkins School, PS 30R, The Westerleigh School, PS 130K, The Parkside School Staten Island and Brooklyn, NY – Teaching Artist – Five in school and after school residency sessions, over four years, in each school with pre-k through third grade students (some special needs students) along with their parents, under a Parents as Arts Partners grant through the Center for Arts Education; various visual art techniques, along with an emphasis on improving literacy.

• October 2014 – Present PS/IS 48R, IS 303K, IS 7R, MS 534K Staten Island and Brooklyn, NY — Teaching Artist – Five week sessions in each school over three years with several seventh grade classes under the auspices of The Center for Arts Education and Historic Hudson Valley; using visual arts to engage students in learning about slavery in the northern United States during the colonial period; the project is entitled, Runaway Art: Interpreting Colonial Slave Ads.

• November 2016 – Present PS 68R, The Port Richmond School for Visionary Learners Staten Island, NY — Teaching Artist — Two twenty week residencies over two years with pre-k and kindergarten classes (including a 12-1-1 class) under the employment of Studio in a School; four cycles of various visual art media and techniques, along with an emphasis on improving literacy and mentoring classroom teachers.

• 2016 – Present IS 75R, The Frank D. Paulo Intermediate School Staten Island, NY – Teaching Artist – Fifteen and twenty-one hour sessions with seven sixth through eighth grade classes (ELL, ICT, and 12-1-1) over two years, under the auspices of The Community Word Project; using various art and writing techniques in connection with the school science curriculum and using a theme of Community and Culture.

• Spring 2018 and Fall 2018 PS 37R and IS 2R Staten Island, NY – Teaching Artist – Ten sessions each season with special needs students from five to thirteen years old under the auspices of Marquis Studios; using art lessons to help improve socialization, communication, self-confidence, appropriate behavior, and literacy.

• Fall 2017 PS 58R, The Space Shuttle Columbia School Staten Island, NY – Teaching Artist – Ten sessions with second and third grade students under the auspices of Marquis Studios; using various art methods and techniques to create and perform with three kinds of puppets.

• 2016 – 2019 PS 69R Staten Island, NY — Teaching Artist — Various ten week visual arts residencies with K to fourth grade classes under the employment of Arts For All, with an emphasis on connecting to the class curriculum.

• Winter 2015 – Spring 2017 PS 19R, The Curtis School Staten Island, NY – Teaching Artist – Fourteen half day Saturday sessions over two years with English Language Learners from four to ten years old under the auspices of The Center for Arts Education; using art lessons connected to performance art to improve the use and understanding of the English language.

• 2016 – 2017 PS 18R, PS 31R, PS 44R, PS 65R Staten Island, NY — Teaching Artist — Six week painting residencies with pre-k and kindergarten classes under the employment of Studio in a School, with an emphasis on improving literacy.

• 2016 PS 11R, The Thomas Dongan School Staten Island, NY — Teaching Artist – A five week after-school residency program with fourth and fifth graders under the employment of Sundog Theatre; working with The Newspaper Club to instruct on illustrating newspaper stories, and creating illustrations for the school newspaper.

• July 2014- August 2016 PS 13R, PS 22R, PS 130K, PS 124M Staten Island, Manhattan, and Brooklyn, NY — Teaching Artist — Five weeks of one and a half to two hours of summer school residency sessions with each second grade to fifth grade English Language Learner class in each school over three years under the auspices of The Center for Arts Education; using art lessons connected to a science curriculum to improve the use and understanding of the English language; included instructing a PD session for classroom teachers.

• March – June 2016 PS 74R Staten Island, NY — Teaching Artist — Twelve weeks of one hour sessions for three fourth grade classes and three fifth grade classes, combined into four sessions a day under the auspices of an ABC Grant through SIArts; fourth grade students combined their studies of the Revolutionary War with the creation of book covers and posters; fifth grade classes combined their studies of the influence of sports on society with the creation of Wheaties box covers and posters.

• November 2014 – June 2016 PS 59R, The Harbor View School Staten Island, NY — Teaching Artist — Two years of fourteen to twenty week residencies with pre-k through second grade classes under the employment of Studio in a School; various visual art media and techniques, along with an emphasis on improving literacy and mentoring classroom teachers including using the theme, The Staten Island Harbor; residencies included Community Art Night and four Parent Workshops.

• November 2014 – December 2015 PS 74R, PS 167K Staten Island and Brooklyn, NY — Teaching Artist — Nine class period sessions in two schools with four fifth grade classes each under the auspices of Studio in a School; using art to engage in the study of nutrition through the consumption of fruits and vegetables in Studio’s Art and Healthy Living program.

• July – August 2015 St. George Library, Stapleton Library Staten Island, NY – Teaching Artist – Eight one hour sessions in each library with children from four to twelve years old under the auspices of The Community Word Project; using various art techniques to explore the history and culture of superheroes from around the world, along with an emphasis on improving literacy.

• October 2014 – May 2015 PS 373R, PS 380K Staten Island and Brooklyn, NY — Assistant Teaching Artist — Ten one hour sessions in each school with three early childhood special education classes under the auspices of Everyday Arts for Special Education (EASE) and UAP (Urban Arts Partnership); using basic arts-based activities to connect to the special education curriculum.

• March – May 2015 PS 23R, The Richmondtown School Staten Island, NY — Teaching Artist — Eight sessions with three fifth grade general education classes and one fifth grade special needs class under the auspices of Staten Island Arts; using basic arts-based illustration techniques to create alternate book covers for the students’ favorite books.

• January – March 2015 PS 770K, The New American Academy Brooklyn, NY — Teaching Artist — Twenty session residency with fourth grade students under the auspices of The Center for Arts Education in conjunction with The Morgan Library; students wrote and illustrated their own modern versions of illuminated manuscripts by making and utilizing accordion books, hard covers, self-ground natural pigments, and gold leaf; involves various visual art techniques, along with an emphasis on improving literacy.

• September – November 2014 PS 40M, Augustus Saint-Gaudens Elementary School New York, NY — Teaching Artist –Ten one and a half hour after school sessions with first through third grades under the auspices of Wingspan Arts; using visual art techniques to create and perform with puppets in a Puppet Workshop.

• May – June 2014 PS 20R, Christy J. Cugini School Staten Island, NY – Teaching Artist – Five one hour school residency sessions with three third grade classes under the auspices of the Staten Island Children’s Museum; using watercolors and their techniques to study and create portraits of insects.

• May – June 2014 PS 676K, Red Hook Neighborhood School Brooklyn, NY — Teaching Artist – A six day residency with pre-k, k, and first grade classes under the employment of Studio in a School; collage and puppetry techniques with a tie-in to class curricula.

• February 2014 PS 16R, The John J. Driscoll Elementary School Staten Island, NY — Teaching Artist – A three day residency with fourth and fifth grade classes under the employment of Studio in a School; designing and painting women’s shoes for an exhibit and fundraising auction.

• November 2013 – May 2014 PS 16R, The John J. Driscoll Elementary School Staten Island, NY — Teaching Artist – A twenty week residency with fifth grade classes under the employment of Studio in a School and Arts Achieve; working as a facilitator and teaching artist with the school’s art teacher; various visual art techniques, along with an emphasis on documentation and using technology; working towards creating a standardized art exam for public schools

• October 2010 – June 2013 PS 74R, The Future Leaders Elementary School Staten Island, NY — Teaching Artist – A three year residency with Pre-k, k, and first grade classes under the employment of Studio in a School; various visual art techniques, along with an emphasis on improving literacy and mentoring classroom teachers.

• Spring 2013 West Brighton Senior Center Staten Island, NY — Teaching Artist – Twenty session residency with senior citizens under the auspices of a SPARC Grant; using various visual art techniques to write and illustrate books about our place in the community.

• November 2012 – June 2013 Dewitt Head Start Program New York, NY — Teaching Artist – Residency with pre-k classes under the employment of Studio in a School; various visual art techniques, along with an emphasis on improving literacy and mentoring classroom teachers.

Artist/Illustration Experience

Clients (selected from 1978 – Present))
Arthritis Today, Book-of-the-Month Club, Children’s Better Health Institute, Computer World, Cook Communications Ministries, Cricket Magazine, Houghton-Mifflin Company, the Humanist Magazine, Illinois Medicine, Kiwanis Magazine, National Law Journal, Pearson Education, Scholastic Company, Science Fiction Age Magazine, Staten Island University Hospital, Teen Quest Magazine, and Wizards of the Coast.

Illustration Techniques and Tools
Colored pencils; pen & ink; pen & ink with gray and colored ink washes; graphite pencils, graphite pencils with gray and colored ink washes; digital coloring and collage, and photo manipulation using Adobe Photoshop.

Awards

• Judges’ Choice at Lunacon Art Show.
• Reader’s Poll, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, Dell Publishers, Best Interior lllustrations.
• Certificate of Distinction, Art Direction Magazine, Creativity.
• Certificate of Recognition, The Associated Church Press.