(Fine Art Education / teaching experience CV)
1997: Began teaching Art lessons in the extended day program at my former Elementary School, Henry Heights Elementary in Lake Charles, La.
1998: Was invited back to Henry Heights Elementary to teach “Friday Art Lessons.” This was the beginning of span of eight years teaching Art lessons at the Elementary level.
1998: Started teaching Summer Art lessons at my home in Lake Charles, La. The students were from Henry Heights Elementary School.
1998-2002: Was hired by the City of Lake Charles Parks and Recreation Department as the head set and prop designer for the small productions that were held at each city park. I was also hired as an Art Instructor for the camp kids at the various city parks in Lake Charles.
2002: Began studying Landscape Architecture at LSU. The L.A. program at LSU was ranked #1 in the country by Design Intelligence the year I graduated (2007). The program was highly conceptual and contemporary. Most of the Faculty were Harvard educated professional Landscape Architects who shared invaluable insight on contemporary design issues. Studying L.A. while at LSU lead me to critical learning experiences in Architecture, Urban Design, Interior Design, Graphic Design, Biological Engineering and Drawing.
June 2005: Was nationally selected to participate in a summer long research program held on the LSU campus. The Pre-Doctoral Scholars Institute (PDSI) fostered my belief in thoughtful research and it's relevance in art and design.
September 2005: Several college friends and myself formed a community outreach organization on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge, La. I was appointed Art Director of the organization and taught classes on pushing our ideas graphically.
September 2005: Several college friends and myself formed a community outreach organization on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge, La. I was appointed Art Director of the organization and taught classes on pushing our ideas graphically.
October 2005: One of the projects that spawned from the community outreach organization was a weekend empowerment program held on the LSU campus. We were able to secure four classrooms on campus every Saturday in the Fall of 2005. We chose students from one of the worst schools in the state, Scotlandville Middle, and gave them a second chance to succeed. Our goal was to teach the students basic math, reading and science skills and also serve as a tangible role model, one that was accessible and passionate about their future, despite their past.
January 2006: Was hired by the LSU Newspaper as the Lead Cartoonist and used the position to push our empowerment agenda and also teach our after school at-risk students basic hand drawing skills.
September 2006: Started a Minority Recruiting program for the LSU College of Art and Design. My goal was to recruit high school minorities into the Design school at LSU. I traveled on a weekly basis to local predominately black schools to speak about the opportunities at LSU, especially in the School of Landscape Architecture.
October 2006: Was appointed by the LSU Office of Multicultural Affairs as the Student Minority Representative for the College of Art and Design. I traveled to Harvard University and to The University of Pennsylvania in the Fall of 2006 to speak to the Administration about the lack of minorities in the Design field, ways to remedy the problem and also attended open houses for their Graduate School programs.
Summer 2007: Graduated from the #1 Landscape Architecture program in the country, The LSU College of Art and Design- School of Landscape Architecture.
July 2007-2009: Worked for one of the leading Landscape Architecture firms in the country. The Office of James Burnett provided a platform for me to refine my natural artistic abilities and also develop my conceptual thought process. I gained valuable real world Landscape Architectural, Architectural and Engineering insight. I had the unique privilege of working on the largest private real estate development in U.S. History- City Center Las Vegas. CCLV is a contemporary mixed use real estate development that includes: Restaurants, Casinos, Condominiums, Hotels, Malls and Resorts. The experience was life changing. From being a part of the design team that created the construction drawings for a $9.5 billion dollar real estate project in Las Vegas to managing multi-million dollar urban designs, parks and plazas- my artistic ability flourished in this setting. Other notable works I was involved in are: Woodall Rodgers Park in Dallas, Tx. Ley Plaza at Rice University in Houston, Tx. Discovery Tower in Downtown Houston, Tx. Hines Main Street Tower in Downtown Houston, Tx. Al Reem Mall and Towers in Doha, Qatar.
July 2007-2009: Worked for one of the leading Landscape Architecture firms in the country. The Office of James Burnett provided a platform for me to refine my natural artistic abilities and also develop my conceptual thought process. I gained valuable real world Landscape Architectural, Architectural and Engineering insight. I had the unique privilege of working on the largest private real estate development in U.S. History- City Center Las Vegas. CCLV is a contemporary mixed use real estate development that includes: Restaurants, Casinos, Condominiums, Hotels, Malls and Resorts. The experience was life changing. From being a part of the design team that created the construction drawings for a $9.5 billion dollar real estate project in Las Vegas to managing multi-million dollar urban designs, parks and plazas- my artistic ability flourished in this setting. Other notable works I was involved in are: Woodall Rodgers Park in Dallas, Tx. Ley Plaza at Rice University in Houston, Tx. Discovery Tower in Downtown Houston, Tx. Hines Main Street Tower in Downtown Houston, Tx. Al Reem Mall and Towers in Doha, Qatar.
May 2009 - July 2009: Earned my Texas teaching certification in Art K-12 from ACT Houston.
August 2009 - February 2010: I volunteered at a Catholic K-8th school in Lake Charles, La. I did my student teaching under the direction of 2008 National Teachers Hall of Fame inductee- Mr. Ronald Blanchard. During my time there I was able to establish an Art Club, become the Assistant Coach of the Boys Basketball team, serve as the Leader of the Cubs Scouts Wolf Pack and also mentor children after school. The school was also facing possible closure due to lack of funding, affects from the recession and relatively low enrollment numbers. I helped campaign for the doors to stay open by creating print media that would encourage donors to keep the historic landmark open. This experience reaffirmed my passion for education, community service and mentoring via my natural abilities in Art.
August 2009 - February 2010: I volunteered at a Catholic K-8th school in Lake Charles, La. I did my student teaching under the direction of 2008 National Teachers Hall of Fame inductee- Mr. Ronald Blanchard. During my time there I was able to establish an Art Club, become the Assistant Coach of the Boys Basketball team, serve as the Leader of the Cubs Scouts Wolf Pack and also mentor children after school. The school was also facing possible closure due to lack of funding, affects from the recession and relatively low enrollment numbers. I helped campaign for the doors to stay open by creating print media that would encourage donors to keep the historic landmark open. This experience reaffirmed my passion for education, community service and mentoring via my natural abilities in Art.
February 2010 - Present: I’m currently employed by Goose Creek Consolidated Independent School District as the Art teacher at Cedar Bayou Junior School. I work with over 170 students daily from various socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. I also have the opportunity to work with some of the mentally disabled and Autistic children at my school. Working with these particular children has been invaluable to my career as an educator, cementing my belief that every person has a chance to be an artist and express their feelings in a creative way. I'm also involved in after school activities such as mentoring at-risk children, teaching art lessons and painting commissions.
June 2011: Started my own summer art camp at the Baytown Community Center in Baytown, Tx.
November 2012: Opened "The Power of Color" art business focusing on transforming thought through artistic expression. I work with a variety of mediums including: oil, acrylic, watercolor, charcoal, pencil, pastel, Photoshop and more. I offer a wide variety of art services including watercolor portraits, logos, T-shirt designs, mural designs, tattoo designs, original commissioned paintings and much more. Under The Power of Color umbrella I have also developed art camps and mini-camps to help foster creativity in my community during the summer and throughout the school year.
November 2012: Also participated in a duo art exhibition in Sugarland, Tx. with fellow artist Mychon Deslandes of Houston, Tx. A portion of the proceeds benefited the Houston Food Bank.
December 2012: Participated in my first Art and Design Festival in Downtown Houston, Tx.
February 2013: Was selected to have my own solo art exhibition at the Black Heritage Gallery in the Central School Arts and Humanities Center in Lake Charles, La. Over 100 people from southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas came out for the opening ceremony on February 1, 2013. I was very grateful to be given several awards by the Mayor of Lake Charles, Mr. Randy Roach, for my artwork and outreach work with the community since 1998.
Art is literally my life now and I've never been happier. Along the way I've been blessed to win over 40 art competitions, receive several Art and Design scholarships and have always tried to use my gift to help others. I hope this blog inspires young artists to follow their dreams of being a professional artist and to create thoughtful dialogue with a paint brush.
June 2011: Started my own summer art camp at the Baytown Community Center in Baytown, Tx.
November 2012: Opened "The Power of Color" art business focusing on transforming thought through artistic expression. I work with a variety of mediums including: oil, acrylic, watercolor, charcoal, pencil, pastel, Photoshop and more. I offer a wide variety of art services including watercolor portraits, logos, T-shirt designs, mural designs, tattoo designs, original commissioned paintings and much more. Under The Power of Color umbrella I have also developed art camps and mini-camps to help foster creativity in my community during the summer and throughout the school year.
November 2012: Also participated in a duo art exhibition in Sugarland, Tx. with fellow artist Mychon Deslandes of Houston, Tx. A portion of the proceeds benefited the Houston Food Bank.
December 2012: Participated in my first Art and Design Festival in Downtown Houston, Tx.
February 2013: Was selected to have my own solo art exhibition at the Black Heritage Gallery in the Central School Arts and Humanities Center in Lake Charles, La. Over 100 people from southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas came out for the opening ceremony on February 1, 2013. I was very grateful to be given several awards by the Mayor of Lake Charles, Mr. Randy Roach, for my artwork and outreach work with the community since 1998.
Art is literally my life now and I've never been happier. Along the way I've been blessed to win over 40 art competitions, receive several Art and Design scholarships and have always tried to use my gift to help others. I hope this blog inspires young artists to follow their dreams of being a professional artist and to create thoughtful dialogue with a paint brush.
