Faculty
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I am an artist native to Los Angeles, and a resident of South Pasadena with two children. I received my BARCH degree from The School of Architecture at the University of Southern California in 1992, followed by interning for world-renowned architects Enrique Norten of Ten Arquitectos in Mexico City and Thom Mayne of Morphosis in Los Angeles. My transition from architecture firms to the classroom setting began while working as a graphic artist for The Galef Institute, a non-profit organization that produced K-12 arts-integrated curriculum for charter schools titled, Different Ways of Knowing. In 2009, I received my Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, followed by my Single Subject Credential in Art from California State University Los Angeles. Seeking meaningful artistic partnerships within my own community, I began collaborating with SPACE--the South Pasadena Arts Center--through their Artist-In-Residence Program to develop and bring high-quality visual arts instruction to SPUSD's three elementary schools. In the fall of 2013, I proudly became the Elementary School Visual Arts Teacher for SPUSD, and with the support and collaboration of valued school board members, teachers, staff, and parent volunteers from Arroyo Vista, Marengo, and Monterey Hills, the Visual Arts Program has thrived. Each year, I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to develop thematic visual art courses that are engaging, deeply relevant to a child's life, connect with grade-level curriculum, and spark imagination, critical thinking and self-expression. As an Arts educator, my joy, creativity, and dedication remain focused on nurturing each child's sense of self as capable, gifted, and wonderfully individual in ways of knowing.
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DENISE TANAKA
SPMS Visual Art [email protected] https://sites.google.com/spusd.net/ms-tanakas-art-class/home |
Denise Tanaka began her teaching career at SPMS in 2008. She received her BA and Single Subject Credential in Arts Education from Cal State Long Beach and was the recipient of the Dave Kubela Teacher of the Year Award in 2018. Over the years, her students have received the Ryman Arts Scholarship, Water is Life DWP Art Award, and the PTA Reflections Program Visual Arts Award.
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Rouzanna Berberian is an accomplished artist and an educator. She was born in Yerevan, Armenia. When her family immigrated to the United States in 1990, Rouzanna continued her education at Pasadena City College. She changed her major from engineering to fine arts as soon as she took her first art class with influential artist and educator Jim Morphesis. Later, she continued her studies which led her into teaching art and inspiring generations of students. Primarily known for her circuit board paintings, Rouzanna also works with variety of media that best suit her creative expression. She delved into photography when she was offered a teaching position in digital photography at South Pasadena High School. With mentorship and inspiration from fellow photographers, she photographed and exhibited with Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Nick Ut. Her proudest moment was when she was nominated for Music Center’s BRAVO awards for excellence in art education in 2012 and when her photographs were selected by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center portraying “A Day in the Life of Asian Pacific America” in 2014. Rouzanna received her Master of Fine Arts from the California State University and has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions in the Greater Los Angeles area and in Armenia. Currently she is an art educator at South Pasadena High School and has been a board member with the Monrovia Association of Fine Arts for over a decade as an outreach coordinator, developing and working with after school art program. Her work is in numerous public and private collections
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Aimee Levie-Hultman has been teaching art at SPHS since 2004. She received a BA in Art from UC Santa Cruz and was the Otis College of Art & Design Teacher of the Year in 2006. Her students have won top awards from the Congressional Art Competition, Scholastic Art Awards (regional and national), Light Bringer Project's "Expressing Feelings Through Art", The Music Center's Spotlight Awards (including two finalists in Visual Arts), and from the South Pasadena Arts Council. Notable college art and design programs her students have recently been accepted to are UCLA, UC Berkeley, Stanford, MIT, Cooper Union, RISD, SAIC, Art Center, Otis, CCA, LCAD, PNCA, Pratt, Parsons, and Cal Arts.
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ART COLLEGE ACCEPTANCES
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If you are an alumni of SPUSD that has gone into a career in the visual or performing arts, we want to hear from you! Please consider clicking the link below to update us on your accomplishments and join our thriving SPUSD Arts alumni community.
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SPUSD VISUAL ARTS ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
If you are an alumni of SPUSD that has gone into a career in the visual or performing arts, we want to hear from you! Please consider clicking the link above to update us on your accomplishments and join our thriving SPUSD Arts alumni community.
