Adults and Artful Aging Teresa has developed and led art programs with diverse adult and senior populations including community mural design, collage, drawing and painting, workshops for cancer survivors and lessons for patients at bedside.

In the schools I work with classroom themes and adapt art lessons to topics of study. I enjoy working with all ages with a special affinity for projects with older adults and young children.

Inspired by the complexity of the natural world, artist Teresa Cox creates her artwork by combining dimensional paint, photographic and paper layers. She also works in the realm of community public art and has facilitated group drawing and brainstorming sessions, designed, and painted 15+ community murals, installed several public terrazzo floor commissions and two outdoor sculptures.

Teresa has developed and taught art programs with diverse senior populations including; community mural design and painting, workshops for cancer survivors, lessons for patients at bedside and one-on-one collaged stories in Hospice settings.

Learn more about Teresa in her June, 2013 Artist Spotlight interview.

In addition to the programs below, Teresa is available for mural projects.

Note that some projects identified as residencies can be made into shorter term workshops.

Sample Programs: Customizable To Site’s Needs

Virtual and Remote Programs

Art Kit: Paper Design Collage

Create a vibrant symmetrical paper design inspired by circles, nature or shapes around you.
Materials in kit: Resource sheet, example sheet, 2 templates, white copy paper, pencil, scissors, glue stick, construction papers, metallic papers, tissue paper.

Found Object Collage

Where do ideas come from? How can we become more playful in our problem solving? Everyday objects can provide great inspiration! Look around your home for two small objects-anything pal- sized works well: a small stick, a sliced orange, a flower, or a button. We will make several new drawings based on a common object and use these ideas to build a simple, yet wonderful layered paper design.

Geometric Collage

This playful art lesson is an introduction to color relationships and composition using basic geometric shapes and is for anyone wanting to build or refresh their art foundation skills or develop more ease and confidence in generating ideas.

Painted Flower Collage

Learn a fun, layered process to visualize and create a still-life artwork using flowers and a vase as inspiration. In this lesson, we create simple line drawings of various plant shapes and textures. We will look at a historical artist and discuss color relationships, scale and composition. Students will work with magazine, construction, and painted pattern papers (watercolors with wax resist) to cut and compose into a vibrant and original flower collage.

Abstract Acrylic Painting

Inspired by geometric shapes, color relationships, composition, and the artwork of a historical painter. Students will work with a variety of shapes and transition from drawing into painting their own abstract pieces. This lesson includes drawing, color relationships, painting, sharing and discussion.

Residencies

Artful Memory Stories

Access note: This residency is best for participants without significant visual, dexterity or cognitive challenges. (Artful Aging)

Participants will create their own unique mixed-media drawing/collage story based on a particular memory of place, time, or experience. Guided by group discussion, readings and a worksheet, participants are encouraged to think about key moments and desires in their lives. We’ll resource copies of personal photos and build a composite of the past or future to identify simple yet powerful, everyday moments.

I’ll share past projects and demonstrate clear steps of the process including how to find and compose a visual story, drawing, composition, folding/cutting papers and color blending and paint handling. We’ll use paints, construction papers, art papers, glue, scissors and drawing tools.

Circular Collage Boxes

Students draw, paint and collage an original circular design box inspired by everyday objects and natural ephemera. Participants will identify unique shapes and ideas in the common objects that surround us-from a sliced orange, a fallen leaf or a house key-all shapes can be inspiration for exciting new ideas. This lesson celebrates the joy of creating through the design of a functional object.

I’ll share past design projects and demonstrate clear steps of the process including: drawing, overlapping, circle design, folding/cutting papers and foundational color blending and paint handling. We’ll use acrylic paints, construction papers, art papers, glue, scissors and drawing tools. Each student receives a circular paper mache box to work with.

Hanging Sculpture

Students create individual hanging sculptures based on a theme inspired by a scavenger hunt of colors, textures, plants and designed shapes. Students draw three distinct ideas of inter-related shapes and build these to hang as a vertical story or design. This project explores: invention, balance, mixed media, light, color, play, scale and story.

Popular themes: The forest, city living, garden, family.

Drawing Into Painting

Drawing into Painting is a great fundamental and progressive learning process using observation and imagination to draw and paint plants, shapes, architecture, or other subjects both realistic and whimsical. Students and participants will work with drawing tools and water-based paints such as acrylic, tempera or watercolor.

Hat Making Sculptures

Hat Making Sculptures is a wearable design lesson. Students make their own original paper fabrics and fabulous hat or wig forms inspired by a world culture or an animal/nature theme.

Mixed Media & Murals

Teresa will work with students to draw ideas based upon a selected theme. After refinement, the drawings become a scaled design that is transferred to wood, a wall, or individual panels. The students work collaboratively learning about scale, design, painting, and color relationships in a positive group dynamic.

Teresa is also available for large scale public and community murals.

Self-Portrait Collages

Self-Portrait Collages are both a fun and reflective project for students, and a good way to explore identity. Using a large photograph of their face, students draw and collage a body which expresses their emotions, interests, and life goals. Portraits can be serious or playful and give participants the chance to experiment and work with mixed media.

Architectural Sculpture

In Architectural Sculpture, participants design and construct their own dimensional building through a process informed by famous buildings from around the world. Using basic shapes, participants invent and build their own colorful and unique structures with a variety of supplies which may include cardboard, wood, found objects and paint.

Workshops

Artful Portrait Collages

Access note: This residency is best for participants without significant visual, dexterity or cognitive challenges. (Artful Aging)

In this workshop, participants will explore ideas of the self. We will look at painted portraits by well-known artists (Van Gogh, Kahlo, and others) for inspiration. Each person will select a famous portrait to guide their creative process. Our focus will be upon creating powerful self photo-portraits through posture, expression, color, and spaces which can be catalysts for reflection and reinvention. The self-portrait allows you to see yourself as others might see you or to explore ideas or fantasies of yourself. We’ll explore fundamentals of composition, expression, and color. Materials used during this workshop are paints, pencils, magazines, scissors, colored paper, markers and glue.

Murals: Paint or Collage

In this workshop we’ll develop ideas around a specific theme (circles, nature, design, or others). Each participant will either create their own piece of the mural (collage or paint) or rotate to work on different sections of the project. We’ll learn and explore the fundamentals of community art, drawing, color relationships, paint handling, collage and design. The finished mural may be assembled and exhibited on site or at another location.

Painted Flower Collage

In this workshop we will explore the flower and its limitless design possibilities. Always a beautiful and inspiring form-the flower comes in many varieties and can represent a sense of health, renewal, and beauty. We’ll also look at the work of various artists who work with still life as a theme. This workshop will explore art fundamentals, freehand cutting, and the beauty of the “mistake”. Each participant will loosely draw multiple plant designs and then create collages using their own painted patterns and vibrant art papers. Materials used during this workshop are pencils, markers, magazines, colored paper, paint, and glue.

Design Shape Workshop

In the Design Shape Workshop, students explore shape, pattern, color and form through experimental drawing and collage. They translate their finished designs into musical pop-out paper sculptures, flip books, stamp patterns, collages or watercolors.

Geometric Collage

This playful art lesson references a historical painter and is an introduction to color relationships and composition using basic geometric shapes. This workshop is for anyone wanting to build or refresh art foundation skills or develop more ease in generating ideas. This lesson includes drawing, color relationships, cutting, composition and collage.

Abstract Painting

This workshop is inspired by geometric shapes, color relationships, and the artwork of a historical painter. Students will work with five basic shapes and transition from drawing into painting their own abstract pieces. This lesson includes drawing, color relationships, composition and painting.

Plein-air Painting

In this workshop, we will draw and paint outside from the landscape. Referencing landscape painters, we will look at how they have used, color, shape, and value to create an image. Through observation and drawing we will find natural elements to compose a scene to paint. Each class will address different steps and techniques to draw, start and ultimately finish a painting in plein-air.