WORK EXPERIENCE

• Nurture the creative development of each individual student by exposing them to a variety of age-appropriate topics and materials such as drawing, painting, sculpture, clay, mixed media, art history and aesthetics, printmaking, digital photography, animation, and advance, intermediate, and beginner computer arts (Adobe Photoshop CS2, Illustrator, Flash) while encouraging them to grow and progress at their own pace as they learn.

• Motivate students to think creatively as they learn concepts, techniques, and disciplines in the art world, especially the use of technology in the arts. Encourage students to think divergently as they visualize their ideas through materials.

• Organize field trips for students to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum, the Frick Collection, the Museum of Modern Art, the National Museum of American Indian, the Whitney Museum of American Art and Sony Wonder Technology Lab to enhance students’ aesthetics response and understanding of the arts.

• Provide opportunities to showcase students’ visual creative expression by submitting their work to the Scholastic Art Awards receiving gold, silver, and honorable mention awards in drawing, painting, computer art, and animation. Showcase student work throughout the school, the media center gallery, Norwalk Community College, Rye Art Center, Old Greenwich Art Society, and the Congressional Show.

• Developed and implemented an intermediate computer art level into the high school art curriculum, expanded the program from six to eight classes, and initiated the use of Wacom tablets and grip pens.

• Developed, implemented, and teach AP Studio Art and AP Computer Art courses.

• Organize professional development seminars for the district art department teachers. Activities include visits to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim Museum, printmaking workshops at Silvermine Guild Art Center, papermaking workshops, lesson planning workshops, cultural diversity workshops, artistic development workshops, and aesthetic in education workshops.

• Conduct annual Adobe Photoshop workshops for K-12 teachers as part of their professional development; participate in the Curriculum Review Committee creating rubrics and assessment plans for the district art curriculum and reworking the curriculum. Partake in the Cultural Diversity Week, presenting workshops to students and teachers on the history and culture of Iran and Art of the Middle East.

• Exchanged student artwork with students in in Palestine.

• TEAM mentor to beginner teacher, meeting them weekly and going over pedagogy and classroom management. Review any issues that need to be improved upon.

• Cooperating teacher to graduate students in the field of Art Education. Support student teachers in an active, real life class environment. Help them work on lessons and the implementation of them.

Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY

1999-2015

Adjunct Professor of Art & Art Education

Graduate Department of Art & Art Education

• Taught Field Observations in Art Education every semester, a required course for certification in where graduate students expand their understanding of relationships between theory and practice of art education through observations in public schools, analyzing work in the field, presenting, and group discussions.

• Taught Exploring Cultural Diversity, a required course for certification in which graduate students explore a range of social, political, artistic, and educational issues that relate to cultural diversity, respond to cultural manifestations from a variety of groups and individuals, and apply their understandings about cultural diversity to the creation of art curriculum.

• Coordinated the InSTEP program, a Master of Arts degree designed to offer practicing art teachers advanced academic experiences relating to professional needs and expectations in art and art education, combining work in pedagogy and instruction, research, studio, and contemporary studies.

New Canaan Public Schools, New Canaan, CT

1997-2004

Saxe Middle School, 1997-1998 & 2000-2004

New Canaan High School, 1998-2000

East Elementary School & South Elementary School, 1997-1998

• Created and taught unique and diverse lessons to students in kindergarten through 8^th grade in various art mediums such as drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, art history and aesthetics, collage, and computer art.

• Exchanged student artwork with students in Cyprus.

• Organized and headed field trips to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Sony Wonder Technology Lab, Museum of Modern Art, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, the Neuberger Museum of Art, and New York City’s SoHo art district to enrich students’ understanding of the visual language.

• Worked on the district K-12 art curriculum, linking it with both the National and the Connecticut visual arts standards, arranged professional development workshops at the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the district teachers.

• Organized and headed international educational trips for students to Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and Spain’s Andalusia province. Participated in cultural exchange programs with three middle schools in South Africa and two middle schools in Madagascar; hosted the principals and teachers at my house and implemented programs between students from the two countries and students from Saxe.

• Showcased student art in district wide art exhibitions and in the Scholastic Art Awards with recipients of gold, silver, and honorable mention awards in drawing and painting.

East Shore Middle School, Milford, CT

1995-1997

Art Teacher

• Taught students in 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th grade age-appropriate lessons in drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, collage, bookmaking, paper-making, clay, and the pottery wheel to develop their artistic capabilities. Taught three classes of History of Medieval Europe through art to 6^th graders; facilitated trips to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cloisters, and the Smithsonian Museum of American Indian, NYC.

Chapman Elementary School, Cheshire, CT

1994-1995

Art Teacher

• Taught grades K-6 diverse and developmentally appropriate lessons in a variety of studio mediums such as drawing, painting, sculpting, and printmaking. Assessed and evaluated approximately 350 students. Creator of student displays throughout the district and town of Cheshire.

PERSONAL ART EXHIBITS

Solo Exhibits

• Landscapes, Prince Street Gallery, NYC, NY, June-July 2017

• Landscapes, Second Congregational Church, Greenwich, CT, 2004

• Master’s Thesis, Macy Gallery, Teachers College, Columbia University, NYC, NY, 1996

• Pastels, Ridgefield Library Gallery, Ridgefield, CT 1991

Group Exhibits

• Celebrating Bridges: Art and Art Education Program Alumni Exhibition, Macy Gallery, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY. February 22 – March 19, 2021

• Coming home: Art and Art Education Program Alumni Exhibition, Macy Gallery, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY, Mar 4-28, 2019

• Small Works Show, Pleiades Gallery, NYC, NY, Feb-Mar 2018

• Instructor’s Exhibit, Macy Gallery, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY, 2014

• Teacher’s Exhibit, GHS Library Gallery, Greenwich, CT, 2005

• Teacher’s Exhibit, New Canaan Library Gallery, New Canaan, CT, 2000

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Languages

Fluent in English and Persian, good knowledge of Spanish, and knowledge of Turkish

Professional Affiliation

Member of National Art Education Association, Connecticut Art Education Association, Connecticut Education Association, National Indian Education Association, and International Society for Education through Art