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History and Method

History and Method

By Valeen Parubchenko, Founder of Private Picassos

According to published research, art can increase fine motor skills, reading and writing ability, and verbal and visual vocabulary.  But there are also benefits outside the edges of your child’s paper that can help measure the importance of their experience.Black Painting

Art not only increases their skill level and artistic ability, but also their confidence as artists and human beings.  Children who are exposed to the arts at a young age are more likely to try new things, go outside the lines when problem solving, and eloquently express themselves visually and verbally, according to Elliot Eisner in his book Ten Lessons the Arts Teach.

At the core of all of our programs is an emphasis and exploration of the fine arts.  Using fine art materials and methods, as well as examples of fine artists’ work as inspiration, we are able to offer motivation for our students’ artwork without directly influencing their final product.

Instructors
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Whether your child is experiencing art one-on-one with an instructor in their home or in a small, public group art class, they are encouraged to engage in creative collaborations with new people and express themselves to a broad range of listeners.  The social interactions and highly personal expressions that coincide with creating artwork with and then explaining that artwork to someone else are also fundamental lessons that children learn through out their formative years.

A cornerstone in our curriculums is attention to the artistic level of each of our students. Although each student works at their own pace, most children develop artistically in the following manner (as noted by Viktor Lowenfeld in his book Creative and Mental Growth).  We keep the following stages in mind when developing our curriculums:

  • 2-4 years old: children respond to the world around them by scribbling with different drawing materials, working on their fine motor skills
  • 4 - 7 years old: children respond to the world around them by drawing shapes and stick figures, using some recognizable imagery, as well as exaggerated imagery to express interest in their subject
  • 7 - 9 years old: schematic, recognizable imagery appears, as well as a base line to show the horizon and a double baseline to show distance
  • 9 - 12 years old: fold over spatial representation appears, as well as overlapping to show distance, interest in realism
  • 12 -13 years old: interest in the conceptual aspects of art and expressing oneself

With each of our lessons specifically designed to introduce or develop a new skill, method or theme, children thus progress naturally onto the next phase once they have mastered those that came before. 

Another factor in encouraging this progression is small class size.  All of our programs have a maximum of 10 students, with most programs for children under the age of 4 working with two instructors per class.  Keeping a small class size allows one on one instruction with the teacher for each student, as well as more social interactions and relationships between our students.Printmaking

I started Private Picassos because I was frustrated with the lack of focus and attention in the arts at many public and private institutions. Also, the overwhelming obsession at these institutions with “adult influenced” artwork, where no expression or creativity of the child was reflected, was also a source of disappointment.  This led me to create a unique program that focuses on each student’s skill level, interests, goals, and artistic mind.

Private Picassos believes that everyone is an artist and can create beautiful, interesting artwork when given the correct tools.  We constantly remind even our youngest students that even though they want to become an artist when they grow up, they are already artists, as is evident in their distinctive artwork.


  Staff
  Valeen Parubchenko
Founder/Creative Director
Valeen
Instructor at Still Hip, Rory's Room, Huson's House, PS 154 After-school Program, and private clients

Valeen received her BFA/MS in Art and Design Education, with a minor in Art History and a concentration in printmaking from Pratt Institute. After working in a variety of educational settings, including museums, early childhood education centers and community centers, she decided to create her own program. Valeen incorporates aspects of her own art education into each of Private Picassos' programs, such as the influence of her two artist parents - one a painter and designer, the other a blacksmith; exposure to museums and galleries from a very young age and the influence of children's and adult literature in her own personal work. Outside of Private Picassos, Valeen also chairs the Gala Grassroots Marketing Committee for Only Make Believe, a NY based non-profit that brings theater to kids in hospitals.
   
  Zina Umyn
Art Instructor - Somerset Run Adult Art Classes and private clients
Zina Umyn

Zina graduated from Parsons School of Design with honors, majoring in illustration and painting. She also studied painting and animation at School of Visual Arts and painting at The Art Students League, both in New York City.  She has had a passion for drawing and painting since she was a child growing up in Brazil and Trenton NJ.  Having worked in various fields in design and illustration for the past 37 years, she has experience with a variety of media, including: pencil, charcoal pen & ink, watercolor, acrylics, pastel, gouache and digital art (Photoshop and Illustrator). She loves exploring unique approaches to design challenges and for the past few years has been using Adobe Photoshop as a tool to do preliminary design in her fine art work.
  Jocelyn Arlington
Art Instructor - Rory's Room, Spacecraft


Bio coming soon!
  Itziar Barrio
Assistant Art Instructor - Dillon Child Study Center, PS 154


Bio coming soon!
  Caitlyn Flynn
Art Instructor - Triangles, Squares and Circles, Oh My!


Bio coming soon!
  Monique Ford
Art Instructor - private clients

Monique
Monique Ford was born and raised in Brooklyn and Westchester County, New York.   Attending Plattsburgh State University was where her passion for painting began, along with her strong interest in teaching.  Finishing her BFA in Plattsburgh, she created a thesis body of work in painting, drawing, and photography.  Furthering her creative voice, Monique attended Pratt Institute, receiving her MFA in 2006.  Over the years, Monique has been involved with study abroad programs in Central America and Italy. She has been exhibiting her work in the northeast, receiving several best in shows in Bedford, NY, and at The Silvermine Artist Guild in New Canaan, Connecticut.  Along with a vigorously disciplined studio practice, Monique has been working as a Teaching Artist at many leading organizations such as the 92nd St Y, Bric Rotunda Gallery, Studio in a School, Free Arts NYC and the Brooklyn Historical Society. Recently, she has been expanding her teaching skills and has been teaching Yoga for kids at the Manhattan New School. Monique lives and works in Brooklyn.
   
  Alyssa Ratkewitch
Art Instructor -

Alyssa
Alyssa graduated from SUNY New Paltz with a Bachelors Degree in Art Education with a concentration in photography.  She has taught in New York City public and private schools and is currently finishing her Masters at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.  This past summer Alyssa traveled to South Africa to teach art for five weeks.  She works in a variety of media including pencil, marker, wood, plaster, paint, digital, and film.  She also loves working on new illustration projects!   
   
  Sarah Smith
Art Instructor and Administrative Coordinator - Dillon Child Study Center, NYU Medical Center, Island Kids, PS 154


Bio coming soon!
   
  Tala Wunderler-Selby
Art Instructor - Hudson's House and private clients


Bio coming soon!
   
  Erin Zelley
Art Instructor -


Erin grew up in New Hope, PA and spent the last five years living in Baltimore, MD.  She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Maryland Institute College of Art as well as a Masters in Arts and Teaching.  She is currently living in Brooklyn, NY and is pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts at Brooklyn College. Erin's undergraduate degree was for painting but she also enjoys working with fibers, printmaking, and mixed media techniques in her studio.  
 
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