My dream since I was a child was to be an artist. I was born in Portugal, spent most of my youth and early adult life in Venezuela, and most of my adult life in the United States. I have lived between three worlds all my life! My philosophy as an art educator is very much related to the philosophy of another art educator, Viktor Lowenfeld. His approach and views about children shaped my own.  He was a child-centered educator. However, I also recognize and accept the new theories which focus more on the subject. The teaching of aesthetics, art history, art criticism, and production, even at the elementary level, are now emphasized. I guess that makes me an eclectic art educator.

My interest in terms of my art work is both 2-D and 3-D.  I love to paint what I see in nature. I consider myself an Abstract Expressionist. I feel that my paintings are landscapes of selective images I see during my walks or as I drive down the road. I particularly enjoy seeing how the colors change as seasons change and try to capture those images in my paintings.  Color and texture are my passion. They give me a reason to apply layers of color in different ways on my canvas.  Clay is also another one of my passions.  I particularly enjoy hand building techniques. I feel that I have more control of the media and all the possibilities it offers me.  I often use a combination of techniques to create my vessels.

I received a BFA in studio art, an MS degree in Industrial Arts Education and Doctoral degree in Art Education from Oklahoma State University. I am also certified to teach art and Spanish K-12  from the Oklahoma State Department of Education. I taught art K-12 for 3 years at Olive Pub. Schools and high school art at the Stillwater High School for one year. I moved to Nebraska to teach at Chadron State College for three years, then came back to Oklahoma to teach at Cameron University in the School of Education and Behavioral Sciences to continue teaching education courses and develop an art/music course for elementary education majors.  I worked at Cameron for eight years teaching a variety of courses including art  for the elementary teacher, ceramics,  and art history.  I worked very closely with the chair of the art department on summer workshops for children and other art related community projects which include a mural at a nursing home in Lawton. I also established a service learning project where my students and I went to elementary schools and taught art to all the students. One of my favorite projects was working with 4th and 5th graders on painting murals at Crosby Park elementary school and going to other schools to teach art to students.

I am on the board of directors of the Oklahoma Arts Education Association as the historian and presently as the higher education chair. I arranged for the Museum of the Great Plains to house the 40 years of history files of the organization. In 2005, I coordinated the OAEA Fall convention which took place at Cameron Univ.  In 1999 and again in 2005, I received the OAEA Higher Education Art Educator of the year award. I research and present at state, national, and international conferences on various topics and give and develop art workshops. I also have had several grants funded for a variety of art projects.

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