Frances
Classical Art Techniques and Creative Self-Expression for Any Age
As a Fine Art tutor I specialize in supporting the creative growth and unique self-expression of motivated students with lessons based on each student's particular interests and needs. Employing a lesson structure that is both systematic and success-oriented, I present technical strategies that bolster expressive competency, visual thinking and creative problem solving. Over twenty years of experience facilitating the creative process for individuals and groups informs my lessons allowing me...
Aspergers
I have 20 years of full time field experience as a Board Certified Art Therapist, including specialized work with children and adolescents coping with developmental disabilities like Asperger's syndrome. Expressive art experiences can be a vital means of non-verbal communication and emotional processing for individuals whose verbal and expressive capacities are limited by developmental handicaps, by disposition or from the effects of challenging life circumstances, as in those shut down by grief from bereavement. I have had success crafting an authentic and supportive healing alliance with many Asperger's clients through facilitating their self expression and personal competence in visual modes, using painting, drawing, clay and collage/mixed media.
dyslexia
autism
As a Board Certified Art Therapist, I spent 20 years working with special needs children. I have worked with many students on the Autism spectrum. My Masters' Thesis in Art Therapy was an in depth case study of work I conducted with a teenaged boy challenged by Autism, a language disorder and other limiting conditions. Though my practice did not become a specialization in autism, I have over the years helped many student with developmental disabilities ranging from mild to severe.
art history
As an Undergraduate I exceeded the requirements for a minor in Art History, maintaining a 4.0 grade point average across 42 credit hours of Art History. Additionally, I have direct experience from working in 3 major Fine Art museums, as follows: 1. My first Masters Degree if from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. As a teaching assistant I facilitated the inclusion of children with Autism into enrichment programs. This work included taking trips with the children into the AIC Museum Collections. After graduation, I was hired to continue this work as an adjunct professor. 2. In the late 1990’s I worked at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. As an employee, I was afforded curators' tours of each feature exhibition as training as well as having daily access to the Masterworks of Western Art. 3. Most recently, I was an independent copyist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY City. In addition to the work I did in these world-class museums as an employee, I was a frequent visitor of the collections, studying items of special interest to my own studio practice, taking photographs, sketching and doing personal research. In completing my Masters of Fine Art Degree, specialized study of contemporary art was required. Focus on historic painting techniques was my major. I graduated with honors in May of 2010. Exploring the history of art through frequenting Museums & Art Galleries has always been a very important part of my intellectual and creative life.
college counseling
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
career development
Art Theory
psychology
special needs
Homeschool
needlework
Yulia F. from New York, NY
I'm a 24 year old student who has never had a formal drawing lesson before. Frances was very patient and taught me core concepts of drawing, shading, line work and coloring with pastels. I absolutely loved my time with her. I would recommend her to anyone who wants to learn how to draw.
Jennifer W. from Pelham, NY
I can not say enough kind things about Frances! We have been fortunate in finding her on Wyzant and the reward for my daughter is without end. My daughter started with Frances almost a year ago and the transformation and growth in my daughter's artwork and confidence amazes us after each lesson. She has learned skills and techniques that she was unable to get from her high school advanced art classes and benefited from a one-on-one weekly session that will help her in getting ahead for compiling her art portfolio to submit for future college applications. I would highly recommend Frances to any students looking to advance in their art talents.
Dariusz N. from Wayne, NJ
Frances is a rare type of tutor. She is passing on her life experience in Art to younger generations. My daughter is 16 and started to meet with Francis in March of this year. Now it is the end of June - besides enormous progress in Art, my daughter has built a solid self confidence in her abilities, which is very important for young person in creation and its own integrity. Please take the time and read Frances' personal statement on WyzAnt's website and you will recognize that this is the effect of enormous time that she spent in an academic environment as a young individual, and now that experience is available for your child. Frances has this gift and capacity to teach children of various ages. One day my daughter said: " ... every week I am waiting to meet with Frances, this is the best class I have ..." . This would be fewer words regarding art classes in a studio setting. Happiness and joy on your child's face is priceless. These are those rare unforgettable moments in every parent's life.
Max W. from New York, NY
Our daughter (13) has always been into art and she has done a ton of art classes all over the city. As she got older, however, she began to feel frustrated and limited. All that changed with her very first class with Frances. A whole new world opened up as Frances showed Kate traditional techniques for drawing and painting. Her classes are serious yet wonderfully entertaining. We cannot recommend Frances strongly enough.
Lynn Z. from Nutley, NJ
I am very glad that we found Frances to tutor my daughter, who is a high functioning autistic child, for painting and drawing. My daughter loves to draw and tends to use it to compensate her impaired ability of communication. But like other children on the spectrum, she has limited attention span, repetitive behaviors and narrow interests in terms of topics of drawings. After a few months of weekly lessons with Frances, my daughter was able to do easel painting and produced varies forms of artwork. Frances is a loving teacher who has formal art education and is experienced working with people on autism spectrum disorder. She is very patient with my daughter and always can find ways to deal with her constantly strayed attention and mind. My daughter likes to come to Frances’ home studio and always felt it was fun to dump all her ideas to the paper in front of her. I am amazed that she could focus for such a long time. Overall, Frances is a great teacher and I am looking forward to seeing my daughter learn new painting skills and produce more meaningful artwork.
Rebecca P. from New York, NY
In a short two hours, I received a mother-load of information in a warm and inviting studio. Frances is a truly generous and warm educator. It was a pleasure working with her.
Mendel K. from Brooklyn, NY
I just had my first lesson with Frances today. I went out feeling like an entire new world opened for me. Now, a mere twelve hours later I have done five drawings (I was even able to instruct family members to participate and make some drawings themselves). By the way, I'm in my thirties and these are the first five drawings I've ever done. Teaching an ape to make some brush strokes is easy. Altering the non-artistic mindset of "I'd like to be able to make art, but I don't have it in me," to the mindset of an artist - to see everything differently - is greatness. Thanks, Frances.
Audrey B. from New York, NY
Frances did a great job helping me to improve my painting. I had had great difficulty finding a way to learn classical painting techniques before Frances. Contemporary art and artists seem to skip over the basics. Frances helped me learn incredible techniques - simple and complex - that vastly improved my painting in only a few months! She knows an endless amount and will never hesitate to help you. If you email her with a question expect a bizarrely prompt essay in reply (in a good way). She is so detailed and careful with communicating her teachings. If you're in a tutor session with Frances, make sure to bring a notebook or else you'll miss a lifetime of teachings! She is also great for helping out with college applications--of finally getting those classic still-lifes and self portraits done. She helped me build my portfolio in just two months! Frances is a phenomenal tutor, I don't think I could have chosen a better one. I wish I could have brought her to England with me where I recently just moved.
Dawn M. from Port Washington, NY
When our daughter, R, then a high school junior, decided she wanted to go to art school for college we were in a bit of a panic. She always loved art but had very little formal training. She had taken private cello lessons since age 6 and we wondered if there was a similar type of thing for those who wanted to develop skills in art. A search on Google brought me to Wyzant and subsequently to Frances S.'s profile. After a few emails back and forth, things looked really promising. Frances seemed to have all the skills we were looking for in a tutor so we made an appointment for a lesson. R met with Frances for a two hour session and connected with her immediately. R is fairly shy and it takes her a while to warm up. Not this time! It was as if she knew Frances forever. However, connecting on a personal level was only a minor concern. With time being of the essence, we needed a tutor who could get R up to speed and help her discover if art was in fact a good option for her. After only a couple of months' worth of lessons, our daughter's skills are developing beautifully. Frances is a patient teacher. She encourages R to work hard on her basic skills without sapping her of her love of art. She gives her assignments to work on at home. At first our daughter avoided these assignments, perhaps because she was afraid she wouldn't be able to do as good a job on them as she thought Frances expected. Once R realized Frances wasn't judging her and just wanted her to practice in order to improve her skills, she began to work on these assignments diligently. This was in spite of an otherwise packed schedule. Frances is always accessible. She encourages R to email her with any questions that arise between lessons and she responds to them very quickly. Our daughter comes out of a two hour lesson wishing she could stay longer. When Frances suggested R have a few longer lessons in order to work on some skills that couldn't be developed in just a two hour lesson, R was enthusiastic, even though it meant giving up time on the weekend to do it. This is the type of enthusiasm every teacher should be able to bring out in her student! We have never seen that before, however, but at this pivotal time in our daughter's life, we are so glad we found it in Frances.
Stuart H. from New York, NY
I came to Frances knowing nothing about painting. I was also very apprehensive about whether or not I could be taught how to paint. After our first lesson I not only realized I could learn how to paint but with Frances’s guidance I could also expand my mind in ways I dared not consider. Frances is such a unique teacher. Aside from being a brilliant painter, she has an impressive resume of experience and knowledge in many fields. Over the course of our time together, she has managed to teach me about painting in a personalized way that has helped me to not only build upon my existing field of expertise but surprisingly to learn more about the world around me. I find myself contemplating our painting conversations frequently and at times when I am not only thinking about art. I always look forward to meeting with Frances and applying her knowledge to the things in life that interest me. As an art professional myself, a working NYC artist who exhibits widely, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Frances knows as much about contemporary art as she does about the old Masters. Her wealth of knowledge is astounding which gives her an ability to cater her lessons to your own personal needs in a manner that has your best interests in mind rather than a prescribed teaching approach. Frances is also wonderful at helping you build upon your strengths in order to get you to the necessary next stage. Not only does this foster self-confidence but it enables the skill and information to click in a way that helps the process to move faster as you continue to study and learn. She is by far the best art teacher I have ever had and I can confidently recommend her. It is a rare thing to find a teacher so well versed in painting, design, textiles, psychology and children. I am happy that she can teach me and soon, when my son is a bit older, I hope that she can teach him too. She is a true gift!
Claire N. from New York, NY
Frances was so patient with my daughter and focused on her area of interest, fashion, urging her to produce more work. My daughter was inspired and is looking forward to her lessons in the future
Susan C. from Brooklyn, NY
Frances is just terrific with my 8 y.o. son - she both meets him where he is, and teaches him remarkable technique. I can hardly believe the sorts of things he's drawing, and he loves his time with her and looks forward to it all week.
Pamela R. from New York, NY
Frances is knowledgeable, professional, and was wonderful with my daughter. Frances immediately established a positive rapport with my daughter, and in her first lesson, my daughter produced some of her most detailed and sophisticated work.