Workshops and Classes
Workshops and Classes
As an educator for over 25 years, I have used the power of expressive arts to bring healing, wholeness, and connection to disparate groups including special education students, trauma victims, at-risk teens, immigrants, women and "normal" folks. As a practicing teaching artist with a credential as a Registered Expressive Arts Educator and Consultant from IEATA, I can tailor workshops for your organization and setting.
ENCAUSTIC WORKSHOPS
Encaustic is one of the most ancient painting techniques. It refers to the act of burning pigments into a mixture of beeswax and Damar resin. “En-kausticos” comes from the Greek meaning to “burn into.” The technique consists of preparing a porous material, usually wood, with a medium of wax and damar resin. (Damar is a specific pine tree whose sap is just the right consistency to mix with the wax when warmed, not too hard, not too soft). The medium is warmed in vats under fire and then pigment is mixed into the wax which the artist paints directly onto the surface. The pigment must be warmed and then the various layers fused by more heat.
I run small workshops for encaustic painting comprised of a maximum of 6 participants. All supplies and light refreshments provided.
OVERVIEW: Participants will create an encaustic painting of 6X6 on wood panel. The workshop will be complemented by a talk and presentation that will review the history, techniques and significance of the medium along with photography of representative styles and current notable practitioners.
LEARNING GOALS:
-to gain an introductory understand of encaustic and associated tools
– to understand elements of composition, collage, contrast,
-to learn different sculpting techniques using the wax medium
-to learn fusing through hot gun and cold wax
DURATION: 1-2 hours
ECO-WALKS with NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY
Nothing changes your mood like a good walk. When you complement that walk with a camera and an eye for a good shot, you get a double benefit. Throughout the year, I lead eco-photo tours around the scenic places of NYC. Places that combine the beauty of nature with the sophistication of the city. I look for places off-the-beaten path. These include:
-Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx
-Highland Park, Brooklyn
-Governor's Island
-Astoria Park, Queens
-Inwood Park, Washington Heights
STEET ART TOURS
NYC is an open-air museum; the epicenter of street art. I lead groups through the most iconic neighborhoods for experiencing the cutting-edge creativity of street art and murals. As a 30-year resident of LIC/Astoria, I lead groups
through the neighborhood discovering the cultural heritage of the place. In June, I organize groups through an intimate one-on-one guided survey of Welling Court Mural Project, one of the major open-air community-involved street art districts in NYC.
During your tour, you will learn about the street scene in NYC, get an overview of how graffiti morphed into street art, learn about the various techniques of street art (stenciling, wheat pasting, stickers, etc) and the big names. You might even go on a scavenger hunt for specific iconic pieces that put Astoria/LIC on the map.
Price: $20/person
Includes:
-guided insider's look into the street art scene with a professional artist and educator
-history and styles associated with the development of graphing/street art as a sub-genre
Does Not include: transportation costs via subway, food expenses
Length: 2-4 hours
Poetry/Story Telling Workshops
-Writing down your life: Memoir for the Third Age: a workshop series of six weeks guiding participants through the writing process and story-telling that will culminate in a visual and verbal memoir chapter
Objective: to capture memories as living legacies and heirlooms for ourselves
Therapeutic Focus: How do I come to terms with the course of my life, my circumstances and my choices?
–Writing to Save Your Life: through a series of dramatic and writing exercises, youth and those who have experienced trauma will retell the tales of survival
Therapeutic Focus: to re-storify the telling of a traumatic experience to aid in catharsis and emotional processing
-Who am I?: explorations of identity and personal truth via a series of artistic projects: dream journals, vision boards, physical meditations, collage, psychodramatic encounters
Therapeutic Focus: discovering the path within, identifying one’s personal truth, making sense of personal choices
Herbal Infusion and Artisanal Soaps
Greece has had a long tradition of herbal medicine and herbal infusions. For hundreds of years villagers were creating their own soaps and herbal infusions based on locally-grown, naturally wild, hand-foraged plants and herbs. Using traditional recipes with extra virgin olive oil, I will show you how to make goat’s milk soap infused with herbs from the Greek countryside in aire libre. I lead workshops on creating fun bath bombs, foot fizzies and natural cosmetics– made with ingredients we forage for on the seaside literally the day of the workshop. These include lemon-honey moisturizing cream, pomegranate sugar scrubs, and Aegean sea salt daily cleanser. These make perfect gifts to bring home to loved ones. Relax tired muscles in a bath infused with organic wild-foraged herbs from the countrysides of Hellas, leave skin silky with artisanal soap made from traditional recipes from yiayia’s time. Your all-natural soaps carry only 100% natural oils such as extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, avocado and jojoba oil, and goat milk, (yes! not just good to eat but great to bathe in. Cleopatra’s beauty secret).
You will use the herbs and sand you forage from the Cyclades to make your own natural beauty products. What a better way to bring back the summer? These make perfect souvenir gifts to take back to family and friends as keepsakes of your stay in the sun-soaked Mediterranean.
Photography Walking Tours
I have made photography a daily basis. It gives me a record of the day, a snapshot of my discovery of an image, the surprise and spontaneity of encounter with unexpected beauty and with the “other.” When I travel, I photograph to take in the essence of a place. My inspiration is my native country of Greece. The sun and the resulting intensity are a photographer’s dream. I am a native of the Cycladic islands of IOS (yes, after Mykonos THE party island), Paros and Tinos. As a result, I have a native’s knowledge of this sacred ground. I give walking photography tours in my native Cyclades and greater mainland. I lead private groups through the wild places of Greece talking about history, culture, and fascinating inside lore, but with an eye for a good photo. You literally see the place from an insider’s perspective. And the great thing is you will have a lasting photo to capture your journey.
Starting from July 1 to September 30th of 2019, I am leading groups through an intimate tour of the Cyclades with an eye for photography. Each group is comprised of no more than 10 people. The tours take place for 2 1/2 – 3 hours on each of the major islands of the Cyclades: Mykonos, Delos, Tinos, Paros, Amorgos, Ios, Santorini. Days and islands are determined based on interest and individual availability.
A typical tour includes:
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pick up from port or ferry terminal, travel arrangements to major points of interest on the island
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historical, cultural, and geographic/natural explanation of each point of interest by a native (my family dates back to this region for centuries)
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principles of landscape photography and review of photographic shots, and technical know-how for wide-angle shots from a professional photographer
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accompanied walking tour to scenic and strategic points for taking superb panoramic shots, breathtaking sunsets, ancient ruins at just the right time for the best light and atmospheric conditions
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equipment that can be borrowed (lenses, tripod, etc) to take enhanced shots of the journey
Not included:
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food and drink, souvenir
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gratuities
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camera, memory cards, and other personal equipment