|
About the ARTSTART Instructors
Jose Martinez
In a career spanning more than two decades, visual artist Jose
Martinez has provided a "cutting-edge" look to company
branding and artistic potential.
No stranger to the art world, Jose spent over 15 years as an
aerosol artist in the Greater Los Angeles area. His work has
been published in numerous publications and has also been on
exhibit in numerous galleries all over the city. Martinez graduated
from art school in 1998, and since that time, he has helped hundreds
of aspiring young artists realize their dreams. After a successful
stint as an Art Director for RP Design, Jose now encourages young
artists to achieve the same successes he has reaped. Jose specializes
in cutting-edge graphics for clothing manufacturers that want
to position themselves as "fashion-forward" in their
product lines. In 2003, Jose started his own design company/visual
arts business, 26giants. 26giants offers a wide range of styles
and services from illustrations to Graphic Design and Aerosol
Art.
Robin Bott
Robin comes from a family of artists and her creativity has been
fostered by her parents since she was young. Following their
path, she has taught in a number of programs in the South Bay
region, including Palos Verdes Art Center, Angels Gate Cultural
Center, and the Long Beach Parks and Recreational Arts and Music
Camp. In addition, Robin visits local school to teach underprivileged
students. Her creatively-designed art projects have been adopted
by other instructors throughout the South Bay region. So far,
Robin has completed six mosaic murals in collaboration with elementary
school students. Currently, she is creating a mural with a group
of young men incarcerated at the Camp Miller Probation Center
nestled in the Santa Monica Mountains. Robin is the co-manager
and co-curator of Gallery Eleven Seven, located in Long Beach's
East Village.
Maria McCloud
Maria has been a local artist in the Long Beach area for a majority
of her life and is a self-taught artist with six years as an
art instructor at Long Beach City College. Through her self-taught
experiences, Maria has had an innate desire to teach art to children,
having her first big break as an instructor with the Long Beach
Unified School District. Building on that, Maria took on her
current role as a pre-school art instructor at the "Learning
Garden Pre-School" in West Covina, where the fruits of her
labor are being realized.
Maria is also a member of Gallery Eleven Seven.
Josephine Marie Mbugua
Josephine Marie is a jewelry designer from Southern California.
She has created her one-of-a-kind collections for nearly a decade,
and continues to savor her work. Her style of creating jewelry
continues to change and evolve through simple inspiration. Josephine
Marie began her career by designing earring, bracelets and necklaces
for friends and family. Word of mouth spread, and her list of
clients included many of Hollywood's biggest celebrities. She
has designed jewelry for the first two seasons of CBS's TV show,
"The Ghost Whisperer," along with other sitcoms and
dramas. Josephine Marie used the proceeds from her sales as a
way to raise funds for international charities such as Oxfam
and UNICEF, and regional charities including the Portland Assistance
League, which cater to dental care for low-income families. In
addition, she takes pride in supporting and using Fair Trade
products in her jewelry. Josephine Marie's ultimate passion in
life is "Creating Beauty and Art That People Can Wear."
Thea Roberts-Shaw
Thea is an artist with a Master's Degree in Art. She taught at
Long Beach City College for 25 years, teaching art courses such
as "Art and the Self," "Symbols, Myths and Dreams,"
and many others. Her paintings are in the collection of B.P.
Oil and other collections. One of Thea's after school programs
that saw success for elementary students was "Paint Your
Dreams," which was geared towards 2nd through 6th grade
students at Twain Elementary School. The success was so strong
that it was split up into two groups of 15. "Paint Your
Dreams" was offered during the summer, and another course,
"Right Brain Drawing," was offered fro FASTRAX. Thea
is also a member of Gallery Eleven, where she teaches classes
and workshops.
|
