Jubilee School

Bloomsburg University

Taller Puertorriqueño

Please Touch Museum

As a teaching fellow at Bloomsburg University, I designed a syllabus for an introductory drawing course. The main focus of this class was to examine and practice the fundamentals of drawing and visual language in general. Students were guided through a wide range of exercises including figure and anatomy drawing (with a live model), outdoor perspective studies, still life observation, and 2D composition. 

As a class, we spent time exploring traditional and non-traditional methods of drawing used by both historic and contemporary artists. Ink, charcoal, graphite, and pastels were used to complete each assignment. However, students were encouraged to experiment with other materials both in and out of class. Working closely with 18 students, I got insight into how differently we all approach space, materials, and composition. 

From 2012-13, I worked as an art instructor for the Philly Art Center, formerly known as the Fairmount Art Center (FAC). I taught theme-based projects to children ages three to twelve. Each week, we focused on a style of art or time period. These activities exposed campers to new materials and methods. In between projects, we read books and visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art to learn more about the theme of our work. At FAC, we often used mundane and recycled objects in conjunction with traditional art media. 

In 2013, I taught in the summer program at Taller Puertorriqueño - a Latino cultural center in North Philadelphia. I created a six-week art curriculum (for ages 5-15) that examined campers’ identity and community. Taller is a bilingual organization that focuses on cultural pride and preservation in the many facets that are part of the Latino heritage. To expand on their mission, I created projects with students that highlighted major cultural and artistic aspects of their lives. Each concept referenced the work of artists with similar themes, such as Claes Oldenburg, Miguel Luciano, and M. Tony Peralta. The youngest group focused on graphic design as they labelled their favorite foods and traditional dishes cooked in their homes. Together, we created our own products to feature in an exhibition that looked like a market or corner store. With older campers, I encouraged them to discuss the materiality of their lives and what items were most representative of their identity, culture, and day-to-day necessities. Students combined their images with text from interviews about their personalities. Lastly, I co-curated the final exhibition of this program in Taller’s Lorenzo Homar Gallery. 

In 2013, I was also an Artist in Residence at the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia. I created a body of work for an exhibition, and planned a two-day workshop for museum-goers (families with children ages 2-7.) The theme was to experience and play with light and shadow. I shined light through laser-cut panels of wood to make sculptures that could cast engaging shadows. 

As participants walked through the final exhibition, they entered a multi-stationed room where they could create their own artwork and use various light sources in the room to see what kinds of shadows they could cast. Additionally, participants were encouraged to use their new creations outside of the museum to cast shadows using sunlight and other sources.