The importance of art education to innovative learning poster presentation

Last week I entered the sea of acadaemia when I was invited to present a poster at SGU on the importance of art education to innovative learning at the 2019 Council for Education in the Commonwealth conference.

This experience reaffirmed to me the great importance of using art as an early learning tool as it makes learning fun, accessible and approachable to ALL types of students. Don’t fall for the misconception that learning through art means your child has to be an artist but understand rather that art enhances many other facets of your child’s life. The impact art and culture has on our wellbeing and education is immeasurable and therefore should be even more integrated in our schools’ curriculum. Shout out to all the teachers for their hardwork but also the individuals on this island who continue the uphill battle of promoting the importance of art to our children’s development. 

New educational picture books for our primary schools!

Forever grateful to be a part of this Room to Read  / GND Schools initiative.
For the past three years we have developed 13 picture books by Grenadians for Grenadians!

 Creating culturally relevant books for children of colour is a game changer. These early tools will help build confidence in their identity, culture and presence in this world.

These educational picture books will be distributed to all primary schools. If you would like to know more about this program and the books please check out https://www.facebook.com/grenadaschoolsinc/  

Presenting the Visual Arts for Career fair at St.George's University

I felt really proud to be asked to do a Visual Arts presentation yesterday for Career Day 2017! It’s a great sign that the Arts are being recognized as a viable career option in the Caribbean! Thank you SGU and Rotaract Club Grenada for the invitation to connect with youth! #movingforward #convertingthemasses #stgeorgesuniversity #careerday2017

Creating "Power Bowls" and "Positive Paperweights" with Sweet Water Foundation

Always a pleasure teaching art with the participants of the Rise Program!  This program was created by the Sweet Water Foundation, it is a group psychotherapy Program for Adolescent Girls, age 12 – 18, who have experienced or been affected by sexual abuse. Because of the nature of this program I always try to focus on the positive, healing aspects of art. I want these girls to create art that would empower them and act as symbols of hope and encouragement.
In the Caribbean, some of our ancestors ate out of calabash bowls, I wanted the girls to not only connect with a historical and cultural aspect of our Caribbean background but to paint their own ornamental bowls with symbols that made them happy. 

Summer art class with the Venezuelan Institute Grenada

I volunteered with this art programme over the summer and taught this group of youngsters (6-8 yrs old)  how to paint /personalize their very own bamboo pencil cup holders. They were very excited to create something different and functional. It was also a good opportunity to introduce the kids to sustainable materials that we have on the island. I like teaching art classes where kids get to explore, have fun but also create functional products that they can use in their everyday life! Children in the Caribbean don't usually have access to art classes or materials so just giving them supplies to experiment with, is a luxury. Encouraging young children to learn and express themselves through art, remains a very rewarding experience.

Art program at the new Grenada Community Library

Facilitating art classes at our new library. All kids should have access to art.
To learn more about the Grenada Community Library go here!

Fun art session with the girls at Camp GLOW(Girls leading our world)

The theme was self-expression and each girl got their own puzzle piece to design. The idea was to see their beauty as individuals and also as a learning, growing functional group through their camp experience.Learn more about Camp GLOW here!