Rooted in Maine through my grandparents, raised internationally and from a diverse and multicultural family, I keep finding myself returning time and again to this beautiful place of lakes, mountains, rocky coasts, and mossy forests. 

I am a certified K-12 Art teacher who loves tactile, messy, colorful, process oriented art projects, and being outside in nature. Some of my favorite mediums include: printmaking, weaving, painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, found object assemblage, and sound installations. 

Most recently, I have been at the Ashwood Waldorf school in various classrooms, was the K-12 Art Teacher on Islesboro for 2 years, and taught art overseas in China at two different bilingual international elementary schools. She spent some time in the School Programs/Learning and Engagement Department at the Farnsworth Museum, helping to design and lead workshops with students from throughout the state of Maine. 

Other experiences include leading expeditionary trips with Rippleffect and schools in Portland, and working as a counselor at Waynflete summer camp, gardening, making delicious food, and doing gymnastics. I have volunteered with The Telling Room in Portland for writing workshops and summer camps. In the summertime, you can find me down on Damariscotta Lake, canoeing, swimming, and going for long immersive walks to observe flora and fauna, where I spent one summer cataloguing the paintings of Joseph Fiore at the Fiore Art Center. 

Reflections on Teaching 

The three most important things to me,  in no particular order, are: Art, my students, and Nature.  I have always felt lucky to be teaching art, and enjoy the challenge of creating new lessons, all of the surprises along the way, and sharing the art-making process with my students. The space of flow when the ego disappears and you become the work is my preferred place to be. Noticing, slowing down, and the moment that you "see" a photograph or other piece of art before making it, sharing art ideas and experiences with others, and being in other artists' studios are a few of the things that activate my imagination. For me, Art is a process and a feeling, as much as a set of techniques and methods to achieve a final product. 

Experience

I have a Master of Arts in Teaching with a concentration in Visual Art at Maine College of Art, and a Teacher's License from the State of Maine. I completed my student teaching at both Yarmouth Elementary School and Fiddlehead School for the Arts and Sciences.  I taught at  two different international bilingual schools in China and am then later at a k-12 school in Islesboro, Maine. 

My background is multi-ethnic, multilingual, and international, having grown up living all over the world including Argentina, the Basque Region, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, Armenia, and Uganda. I speak Spanish, French, and a smattering of Mandarin, and grew up speaking Arabic, Swahili, Lingala, and Kikongo with my family in East Africa. 

I completed my BA at Bowdoin College with a Major in Visual Arts, focusing on Sculpture, Installation, and Social Practice, under guidance with the artist Nestor Gil. After an Artist Residency on Kent Island in the Bay of Fundy, I spent a year as an artist's assistant in San Francisco. I have experience with Montessori and am most inspired by Reggio Emilia pedagogical practice. 


Artist Statement + Art Education Pedagogy 

My Studio Practice is multimedia, inspired by nature and the inner workings of humans. The tactile quality of various materials- paper, wool, wood, and stone- inspire me. Nature is my biggest inspiration, as well as other artists, especially those focused on social justice and the human experience.  

As an Art Educator, I design projects for young artists that lead to engaged, hands-on, experiential, and collaborative art making. 

I practice Responsive Classroom and Interactive Modeling techniques in the classroom and strive to both model and engage students in a respectful and highly co-creative art making process. 


Past Collaborations 

In addition to teaching in schools, I have also collaborated with Portland Ovations and the Portland Public Library to lead workshops that connect hands on art making with literacy and storytelling. 

Pre-pandemic, I was teaching art at an international bilingual IB candidate school in China, learning a lot from my students and from being in a different culture every day. 

For two years at the start of the pandemic, I ventured to living and teaching k-12 Art on a small island off of the coast of Maine. The landscape was beautiful and inspiring, and I enjoyed the experience of  living and working in a small community throughout the seasons. 

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