I love getting notes from my students! She loved my Regal Cats mixed media project! 

Students from CFLA have been working hard creating auction paddles for the annual Children First Foundation Gala and Auction. We spent the day spraying and painting plates in acrylic paint while looking at the work of artist Kandinsky. Visit the website for info and tickets.

I had a great time working with the kids at this summer’s Wonder Camp.

They really took on the challenge of creating their special Wonderland. I had some great feedback from parents, “My son loved his camp experience this week!! The variety of activities kept him wanting to come back each day and the staff was amazing. We will definitely be looking into future camps. 😃 ” You can see some of the photos in the galley below: 

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I was really excited to see the work of the students in my Walkers Teen Art Club. I was with them until Jan 2019 and was really proud to see some of the work they did with me up on display. It runs from the 20 June – 4 July, you can read more about the exhibition here. 

I’m excited to be working as a Gallery Educator at the I.D.E.A Museum here in Mesa. It’s be exciting to lead tours and educate children about the exciting exhibits in the gallery. I even had the opportunity to share my ideas for the next exhibit – Roadside USA. You can see some on my ideas on display in the museum from June 14th – Sept 8th. you can also read more about the museum here.

From 10 December – 18 January 2019 

Recently I’ve been busy preparing workshops for the National Gallery outreach programme. I’ve just completed an exciting and productive surrealist collage workshop with the women at HMP Fairbanks.  I’m very much looking forward to also working with the residents at Caribbean Haven Residential Centre over the next few months.

Jan 2019 – I just ran my last art class at Caribbean Haven Residential Centre. We worked on our drawing skills in charcoal and used Hollywood Icons as our inspiration. I was pleased with how much they achieved in the one hour session and everyone left the class with a real sense of achievement and accomplishment. 

I’m currently working on the website www.locallyinspired.org 

This website will be hosting a collection of video tutorials inspired by the “local”. Our first set of tutorials was film and produced with the help of past CIFEC students. I’m so excited to be part of this fantastic project!

The videos are currently in post production so please check back soon.

I have been amazed at the great work produced this year at CIFEC.  Please join us to celebrate their success on the BTEC Level 2 Art & Design, BTEC Level 2 & Level 3 Creative Media Production course. If you missed the show you will be able to watch the exhibition video on our youtube channel.

I was once again excited to see all the great work on display at the Walkers Art Club Exhibition. I’ve had a fantastic year working with teens from across the island. We’ve been working hard all year and delighted to see our 3D Alexander Calder inspired piece featured in the official photographs.

Artwork designed not only to impress but to motivate. That’s exactly what the Department of Environment was looking for when they decided to launch a new education program for the protection of the Marine Parks.

They commissioned the creative and talented students in the BTEC Creative Arts programme at the  Cayman Islands Further Education Centre to create a series of posters.  They had no idea, the caliber of work they were going to see from this remarkable art class.

When the Cayman Life TV crew showed up,  students were presenting their work to their clients.  The presentation involved describing the development process and what inspired them at each stage along the way. They also shared the techniques and strategies they tried and finally, the finished product.  Representatives from the D-O-E were more than impressed.

Timothy Austin, Deputy Director Research and Assessment at the Department of Environment, tells Cayman Life,  “The posters are absolutely phenomenal in terms of the artistic interpretation and the guys and girls have really taken an amazing slant on that.” Mr. Austin says he is thrilled with the incredible artwork and powerful messages.

So is his colleague, Croy McCoy, a Senior Research Advisor at DOE.  “These kids really took it on board and delivered a message that I myself still find amazing. It’s been a real good journey to see these kids excel in that area.”

The goal of the course is to give students an important lesson in life.  They work directly with real clients on a real campaign and it gives them a glimpse into what will happen in the real world when they get older.

Art and Media teacher Claire Musser explains it is completely different than the art that the students did in high school because they have to work for a client and to a creative brief.  She says “Straight away we asked them to create their own spin on things, count their own ideas, bring in their own thoughts and we just take it from there”

While there may be nothing more nerve-wracking than putting your efforts out there for criticism and approval, learning how to accept feedback and how to incorporate that input into your work – is a lifelong lesson that will pay dividends professionally and personally.

Student Andrea Herrera says she had reservations at first. “I thought it was going to turn out really bad actually, but my teachers were there to guide me through the whole time, they give me some ideas and it just turned out really well.”

Her fellow student, Terek Stewart says he learned a lot about himself along the way.  “It was a lot of fun, I did a lot of experimenting trying to find my style of work and I think I found that.”

To sum it all up (in the words of Art and Workskills teacher Sarah McDougall)…

“THESE POSTERS HAVE REALLY BLOWN US AWAY. IT’S BEEN AN ABSOLUTELY VINTAGE YEAR FOR GOOD WORK AND TOP RESULTS.”

Congratulations to the CIFEC Art Program at the Cayman Islands Further Education Centre for receiving the Cayman First Classroom of the Month award for April 2018

the above article was published on Cayman Life TV 

A quick look at the BTEC  art and media courses that will be on offer at CIFEC in 2018/2019

BTEC Level 2 Art & Design students have been collaborating with the Department of Environment to produce a set of posters to highlight the need for Marine Protected Areas in the Cayman Islands. Students were introduced to the topic with a presentation by Croy McCoy from the DoE. They later had the opportunity to discuss their design ideas with Tim Austin and Croy McCoy from the DoE. It was evident early on that the students were producing some of the best artwork seen at CIFEC. Both their teachers, Mrs Musser and Mrs McDougall were impressed with the work being produced so a meeting was arranged with Cayman Life TV. The DoE was invited back to view the final Marine Parks posters and this was filmed for Classroom of the Month – April 2018. Tim Austin says, “The work is phenomenal in terms of artistic interpretation. They have taken something important to DoE – Marine Protected Areas, and turned it into incredible artwork with powerful messages. I am amazed at what they have done”. We are really proud of our Art & Design students and can’t wait to see their posters around the island and the film on Cayman Life TV

as featured in the Education Pulse Vol. 8