I grew up in Sacramento and am currently residing in Long Beach, California. Aside from teaching art, I like to paint, play dress up, and eat good food! I aspire to be that one teacher you had in high school who left a positive and memorable impact on your life.

I feel passionate about creating a space for people to express themselves through art. I want to inspire confidence, self reflection, and growth through teaching art in a non-restrictive manner. Art is crucial in education because it helps in the process of understanding the world, connecting with others, and visualizing emotions. I particularly find the practice of art therapy inspiring and aim to apply its benefits to my teachings in order to motivate self-expression in others. When articulating words doesn't come as easily, I find that putting things on paper can be just as effective and often more organized. 

In my personal work, I gather inspiration from my journey as a woman going through transformational life experiences which directly affect my emotions and body. Throughout the span of my life, I notice constant changes in my body; weight gain, weight loss, clogged pores, loose skin, hair growth, hair loss- all of which contribute to my growing anxieties and insecurities about my body. I recently created a colorful collage, using color theory, showcasing the changes that occur in a woman’s body throughout the span of their life. I included bright tints of green and yellow representing fertility and health, deep shades of red and purple representing maturity, and every color of the rainbow in different shades, tints, and saturations to represent bodily changes and emotional growth. In the final product of this project, I saw the beauty in constant change and transformation. Moreover, I realized the journey of self-reflection and acceptance I had just gone on. By creating a piece of art that reflected my perspective on the changes of a woman’s body, I found solace in my acceptance of my own body. 

With this experience, I recognized that art should be integrated into education because it is a crucial way for anyone to reflect on their own thoughts and feelings.