Ariane Brown offers art classes in beginning drawing and painting, clay, intermediate to advanced drawing and painting, watercolor, and arts and crafts in midtown Tulsa. Summer classes begin June 1, 2009. Classes are available for children, teens, and adults as well as youth and teens with Asperger's, Autism, or ADHD.
Ariane has a B.A. in Art, and a MPH, is certified to teach Art K-12 by the state of Oklahoma, has had experience teaching lessons at Philbrook Museum in Tulsa, day camp at Gilcrease Museum, Sapulpa Arts, and the Diocese of Tulsa. She has taught several homeschooled students. She also has fifteen years' experience as a public school teacher, and has now opened her own private studio. She paints with acrylic, watercolor and oil, draws, makes clay sculptures, and has created commissioned works for individuals as well as scenery paintings for university and community theater productions.
She has a special interest in bringing the Arts to individuals with Autism and Asperger's. She has raised a son, now 14, with Asperger's and ADHD, and has gained awareness of the challenges faced by individuals with these special needs, as well as experience through her five years' work as a mental health tech at a hospital which specialized in pediatric behavioral health.
 Some Personal Statments from Ariane Brown About Her Work, Teaching , and Mission:
I am both an artist and a teacher. I enjoy drawing, painting, and working with clay, especially handbuilding. I enjoy bringing joy to my students through creating artwork which they can consider beautiful and personal. I teach basic through advanced materials use and techniques, while encouraging my students to find their creative, expressive passion. I encourage my students to master skills and to explore creative methods of developing imagery or communicating visually. My personal strengths are the use of color in colored pencil drawings, and watercolor painting, but I use about any media that appeals to me at the time, and am always open to trying new things. I am in the process of reviving my grandfather's late 1700's stone litho press which should be operational by late fall 2009. In addition to teaching Art, I have done scenery painting, murals, and commissioned works .
I have a personal mission to bring Art to the Autism community in Tulsa and Northeast Oklahoma. I want to help these children, teens, and adults have an outlet to socialize, create, and express themselves. As a mother of a son with ADHD and Asperger's, I have encountered the challenge of finding an activity that is both fulfilling for my son and not frustrating for me. So many times over the years, day camp experiences and extra-curricular activities have been challenging, because most groups have not been well equipped to deal with typical behaviors of Asperger's and ADHD, such as seeming to ignore, not follow directions, or tuning out.
Through my extensive work with children and teens of all abilities, and disabilities, I have developed skills to redirect students, and strategies to accommodate for individual needs as well as patience and compassion for some of the struggles and barriers to expression experienced by Asperger's and Autistic youth. My classes for Autism and Asperger's are designed to give students skills and techniques in Art, but also to augment their ability to visually communicate their thoughts, perceptions, and responses to the world around them. I encourage students to work through frustrations and to explore materials which are compatible with any sensory issues the individual may have. I also teach students what to expect out of their first attempts and contact with a specific art material. I prepare them for sound, smell, and tactile sensations they may discover.
Small group classes enable the students to work in a peaceful, attentive, and orderly atmosphere, where they can interact with up to a total of four peers . Students are encouraged to describe their work with words or gestures, practice giving eye contact , and receive the opportunity to tell stories about their work either by writing, drawing, or through a family member who can interpret for them. This interaction is designed to develop confidence and break down social barriers. I want to be able to reach as many members of the Autism community as possible and provide affordable, flexible classes . Ultimately, I want to find individuals or corporations who will sponsor the cost of lessons for these students so that finances are not a barrier to their ability to participate.
 Attached below is a flyer describing my summer arts and crafts 1/2 day day camps for youth and teens. |
