About Me

VISUAL ARTS TEACHER

Tech Guru, Artist, Musician, Emergent Leader, Arts Advocate

Tower Bridge, London

“Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.”
- Princess Diana

My Journey

My Mentor

For many years I studied under the Artist and Illustrator, Jeff Fisher. He was on the Board of Directors of The Society of Illustrators in Manhattan and owned The Drawing Studio of Long Island in Smithtown, NY. He shared his skillset and experience with such passion that his untimely death in 2014 left a gaping hole in the hearts of our community of artists.

His passing enforced the significance of why I went into the field of education. He was such an influential figure in my life, so continuing his legacy is important to me. It was profound to see how one person could affect the trajectory of so many lives. My former high school classmates took over his studio and changed the name to The Jeffrey K. Fisher Memorial Studio. I modeled my "Figure Drawing Fridays" lessons after his practice when I taught AP Studio Art for ov years at Sachem High School North.

Educational Leadership

In 2019, I obtained a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership and a School Building Leader (SBL) certification through the New York State Department of Education. I graduated summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA and MS Ed. in Educational Leadership from LIU Post. The leadership program was a Sachem cohort held at a middle school in the district. We met on Wednesday nights from 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm for two years. We were offered an advanced Graduate Certificate but I took the extra courses in the summer at LIU Post and a high school in Valley Stream in order to complete the full Master's Degree. I also completed a 400-hour internship at both the district level and the building level.

Art & Design Educator

I have been teaching various art and computer graphics courses at The Sachem Central School District since March of 2003. Throughout my career, I have assumed many leadership roles including as the Building Website Administrator and the District-wide Art Department Chairperson. I have also held positions as the advisor for The Yearbook Club, The National Art Honor Society, and The Video Yearbook among many others.

In each of these roles I utilized my background in technology and my creative skills to engaged students, parents, and staff while successfully completing projects each year. I am passionate about bringing together like-minded creative individuals and watching them work as a team to reach a common goal.

My Art & Design Background

When I was in high school, I completed a five-credit art sequence and received college credit for the first AP Studio Art class introduced to my high school in 1995. I studied fine arts at ASU with a concentration in graphic design but transferred to Farmingdale State University for a degree program that included the integration of computer graphics, animation, and design.

My schedule allowed me to earn an AAS degree in Advertising Art & Design then a Bachelor of Technology in Visual Communications while simultaneously working in the graphic design/ web design industry. I graduated with four years of work experience in the field of art & design which opened up many doors for me.

After graduation, I interviewed for many web and graphic design jobs throughout California and I accepted a position as a Senior Web Designer at ZDNet. ZDNet later merged to become part of CNet Networks. My experience working for CNet during the dotcom boom was priceless and I was living the life! Then 9/11 happened, but that's another story....

After 9/11, the design industry changed and so did the world. It was a scary time which I can only compare to the COVID-19 pandemic. The dot-com boom had officially crashed and over 30,000 one-wayGreyhound bus tickets were purchased by the mass exodus of people leaving the Bay Area. I ended up returning to New York but had to reimagine the future of my career.

I settled in Bayridge, Brooklyn and taught college courses at Farmingdale State University during the day and completed my first master's degree in secondary (art) education at night.

I commuted from Bayridge, Brooklyn to Dix Hills on Long Island every day to complete my student teaching at Half Hollow Hills School District.

Then I drove to Dowling College in Oakdale, NY each night to finish my graduate classes and drove back to Brooklyn each night! It was a year of complete and exhaustion, but I ended up with job offers from two different school districts but accepted the position at Sachem because of their incredible art program.

Creative Lineage: Music

My Bohemian grandfather on my father's side was an actor and soft shoe dancer in a multitude of musical productions throughout the early 1900s (think Fred & Ginger). He travelled across the U.S. performing and had his own vaudeville act. He crossed paths with many staples in the showbiz industry like George Burns, James Cagney, and Red Skelton.

In the mid-1920s he was a working actor/dancer on Broadway and performed in several Rogers and Hammerstein Productions including, A Desert Song (1926) and the original Showboat (1928).

Creative Lineage: Art

My Lithuanian grandmother was an artist who lived on the east end of Long Island while I was growing up. Her waterfront neighborhood was filled with natural beauty that inspired her work and I was captivated by her talent in so many different mediums.

She gave me my first set of oil paints when I was eight and we she taught me how to create "Lithuanian Tinsel Paintings", which she had displayed throughout her home. It seemed unfathomable to me that I would ever be able to create anything like hers. "It takes time", she would say, but I wanted immediate gratification and often found it frustrating.

As I got older I began to develop self-discipline. I practiced my instruments every day and worked on my art. In college I began to learn different types of computer applications which added a new dimension to my creative endeavors and I realized that they are all connected. I also realized that pursuing any type of skill in the arts is a lifelong learning process. That is the epiphany that changed my life. It is constantly changing and therefore I am changing too. That keeps it keeps it interesting!

Course Teaching Experience

College Level High School Courses

Advanced Placement Studio Art
(College Level - College Credit)
Advanced Placement Art History
(College Level, College Credit)
Communication Design I (CTE)
(College Level - College Credit)
Communication Design II (CTE)
(College Level - College Credit)

Secondary Level Courses

Filmmaking
Adobe Premiere, imovie
Web Design & Animation
Dreamweaver
Media Arts
(Adobe Creative Suite)
Advanced Digital Media
(Adobe Creative Suite)
Advertising Design
(Adobe Creative Suite)
8th Grade Fine Art
Introduction to the Visual Arts
(ipads, Procreate)(Adobe Creative Suite)
Studio in Art
Drawing & Painting I
Drawing & Painting II

Sachem East High School

The Atelier at Flowerfield

In March of 2022, Sachem High School East senior Ciara Torres was accepted into the Juried Art Show at The Atelier at Flowerfield. Her painting, “Still-life in Tempera”, was created from observation in my "Drawing & Painting 1" class.

Sachem High School East Art Show

Click here to view the art gallery and images from the show

Sachem North Student Archive

STUDENT ART COMPETITIONS

The Long Island's Best Young Artists, Heckscher Museum of Art, Huntington, NY
The Colors of Long Island Art Show, Long Island Museum, Stony Brook, NY
The Bay Area Friends of the Fine Arts Show and Competition (BAFFA), Sayville, NY
The Long Island Media Arts Show, Five Towns College, Dix Hills, NY
The Suffolk County Art Leaders Student Exhibition, Babylon, NY

see those photos at #SACHEMNORTHART

ART STUDENT SPOTLIGHTS

In both 2017 and 2018 a Sachem North art student was selected to receive the "Women Sharing Art Scholarship" at the Bay Area Friends of the Fine Arts Show.
In 2016 a Sachem North art student attended National Portfolio Day at The Jacob Javitz Center in Manhattan and based on his artwork and academics, he gained acceptance into Pratt's competitive architecture program and received a $20,000 scholarship.
In 2016, Felicia Gaylardo's piece, Prophecy of a Memory, was selected to me part of the Long Island's Best Young Artists Juried Art Competition at The Heckscher Museum of Art.

Social Media

See my former students art photos at #SACHEMNORTHART or #SACHEMARTDEPARTMENT #SACHEMEASTART

Fun Stuff

One of Steph's promo pics 💛

My London Trip

During the summer of 2018, I embarked on a solo journey to England on a Gate1 Travel tour called "6 Day Downton Abbey Tour". Having taught AP Art History, it was absolutely incredible to see so many of the sites that were an integral part of the art history curriculum. I am also an avid Downton Abbey fan, so the visit to Highclere Castle was really special for me. During my time overseas, I toured London Town, The Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral, Highclere Castle, Oxford, Stonehenge, and Bath. I even reconnected with a friend whom I hadn't seen in over 20 years. She resides in Ireland but happened to be in London my last night. It was the perfect end to a perfect trip!

My friend Steph and I went to high school together. We were both musicians in our school band and we played on the field hockey team. Steph pursued her dream of becoming a professional musician and studied music at The University of Galway in Ireland. She tours the Irish music circuit and is also an accomplished solo artist. You go girl!!
You can check out her music here: https://stephgeremia.com/

LONDON TOWN!

City Tour

DOWNTON ABBEY

Highclere Castle and Covent Gardens

STONEHENGE

The Neolithic Mystery

THE ROMAN BATHS

Ancient Roman City of Bath

OXFORD

Harry Potter Filming Location

THANKS, FACEBOOK!

My dear friend from high school moved to Ireland over twenty years ago but she happened to be "on holiday" in London on the very last night of my trip.

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