Mission Statement
My mission as a visual arts educator is to create a studio environment where children discover the everyday magic of the natural world. All of my projects follow the tradition of magical realism, which grounds them in observational drawing and includes extra dimensions of self-expression. I begin each unit by teaching a foundational skill such as portraiture or perspective drawing, and then elevate it with expressive color or visual symbolism. My units are scaffolded to include clear arts making criteria, exposure to art history, language objectives, ED&I (Equity, Diversity & Inclusion) and SEL (social and emotional learning) prompts. My classroom is managed like a professional artist's studio, where students explore diverse materials and analyze historical and contemporary works of art. I model my classroom discourse within the tradition of compassionate critique, which utilizes the ladder of feedback to foster meaningful discussion about student work. Throughout my units, students engage in both self and peer assessment to build an expansive arts vocabulary and improve the quality of their work. I employ these strategies to put language to the ineffable everyday magic my students see in themselves and the world around them.
Bio
I have worked as an art educator at Montauk Junior High School for the past twenty years. During my tenure there, I developed a rigorous visual arts program that revitalized our once struggling school. Together with the administration, I designed a challenging curriculum that met the needs of our ELL students and increased parent engagement with student exhibitions. I co-developed an advanced art after-school program that helped hundreds of students gain admission into specialized art high schools. I also worked as a researcher and facilitator to develop ED&I, SEL and formative assessment techniques with NYC’s Office of Arts and Special Projects. My assessment research was featured on the cover of the January 2014 NAEA Magazine and presented at the NAEA conference, among other publications. I have conducted various workshops at Pratt Institute and Hunter College on Assessment and ELL Education as well as mentored numerous student teachers throughout the years. In addition to my work as an educator, I am a practicing artist. I received my BFA from Pratt Institute in 2002 and my MFA from Hunter College in 2018. I have shown my artwork at several New York City galleries and have been reviewed by The Brooklyn Rail and Hyperallergic.