Natassja King
Art Educator
Curriculum Vitae
Current Position
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Herzliah High School Snowdon
September 2019 to present
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As the Visual Arts teacher at this school, I teach Secondary I, IV and V. All Sec I students take art for one year, then in Sec II they take music, Sec III take drama, and they choose one of the three options for Sec IV and V.
Sec I students explore the formal elements of art in a series of interconnected projects that prioritize process over product. The goal of these projects is to assess students' individual abilities and confidence levels in order to differentiate for lower ability and stretch and challenge higher-ability students. Throughout the year, projects are designed to introduce new techniques and ideas while always nurturing resilience and a growth mindset. The final project of the year is a collaborative art piece, which is a "brick" wall sculpted by students out of cardboard and painted to look realistic with street art that they have designed and produced themselves using several references from contemporary street artists around the world.
In Sec IV, students explore portraiture and practice drawing from life and from reference images. They practice rendering in different media, including pencil, pen, ink, watercolour paint and collage. As students' technical ability increases, projects gradually incorporate more creative elements.
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Sec V students work on deepeding their understanding of art as a form of communication, as well as mastering their technical skills in a variety of wet, dry, and three-dimensional media. Students also tackle more challenging concepts such as composition, balance, and negative/positive space.
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In addition to the main curriculum, Sec IV and V students also complete an independent study project. This can address any topic they like, and can be created using any medium they choose. The final product will represent at least 20 hours of work. The goal with this project is to help my students incorporate art into their daily lives. While there are many careers available in the arts, many students graduate every year and never pick up a paintbrush or a lump of clay again in their lives. This project aims to prevent that by fostering an independent art practice in students' home lives so that long after they have finished high school, they have the tools and the confidence to continue exploring art on their own, becoming lifelong learners and lifelong artists.
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Education
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Concordia University
B.F.A. Specialization in Art Education | 2017
Volunteering member of the Fine Arts Student Alliance, the Fibres Students Association, the Liberal Arts Theatre Society, The Void Magazine, and the People's Potato.
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Glencross Family Award in Art Education | 2015
This prestigious merit-based scholarship is awarded to one student in the Art Education program per year.
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Quebec Teaching Certificate | Summer 2017
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Internships
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John F Kennedy High School | EMSB
September 2016 – April 2017 (8 months)
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Student Teacher in a Multimedia and Integrated Arts classroom for Secondary I, IV, and V. Responsible for writing and teaching units on special effects makeup, documentary film, typography, digital sound/video editing, and bookmaking.
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Elizabeth Ballantyne Elementary | EMSB
September 2015 - December 2015 (4 months)
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Student Teacher in a Grade 6 classroom for Univers Social (French) and Art (English). Responsible for teaching students in grade two, three, and four as well as intensive one-on-one instruction with four students with severe learning impairments. Planned and taught an interdisciplinary art/social studies unit on Iroquois Art. Arranged for a guest speaker to visit the class. (See subsection on Initiatives in the Schools.)
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Chez Doris Centre for Women
September 2014 - May 2015 (9 months)
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Student Teacher in a weekly open-attendance art workshop. Participants were aged 18 and up, with multiple intelligences and a wide variety of skill sets and interests. Worked to deliver stimulating and rewarding classes for these women that could build over several sessions or be self-contained in one workshop if the participants could not attend regularly.
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Merton Elementary School | EMSB
January 2014 - March 2014 (3 months)
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Student teacher in a grade six class, with the opportunity to observe the same group of students in the capable hands of five experienced teachers (English, French, Math, Science, and Physical Education), all of whom had very different styles of teaching and classroom management. Volunteered to guest-teach for one day in a fourth grade classroom in an effort to practice adapting my lessons for different skill levels.
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Relevant Employment
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Francis Combe Academy | 2017-2019
September 2017 – July 2019 (2 academic years)
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This role combined two subject areas: Fine Arts and Design.
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As a Fine Arts teacher, I taught years 7, 9 and 10. Year 7 students explored the formal elements of art, including line, colour, form, shape, and pattern. In year 9, students explored portraiture and practiced drawing from life and from reference images. They also practiced rendering in different media, including pencil, pen, ink, watercolour paint and collage.
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Year 10 is the first year of GCSE studies in the UK, and as such it was a very important year for Fine Arts study because the subject is no longer compulsory and most students who chose it as a GCSE option intended to carry on pursuing it after secondary school in some capacity. Students worked on deepeding their understanding of art as a form of communication, as well as mastering their technical skills in a variety of wet, dry, and three-dimensional media in accordance with the National Curriculum.
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As a Design teacher, I taught Computer Aided Design to students in year 7, 8, and 9 on an 8-week rotation, eventually teaching every student in the school by the end of the year. Students learned to use Photoshop and TinkerCad, as well as practical tools of Product Design such as the die-cutter, vacuum-former, badge-press and scalpels. Students were introduced to the different scales of production, marketing techniques, and manufacturing methods. Every student created a product that they took home at the end of the 8-week module. This was a very high-volume, fast-paced method of teaching that required immaculate time management skills in order to complete all necessary assessments and to support students in completing their projects on time.
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Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio Tour | Tour Interactor
July 2017 - October 2018 (4 months), and April 2019 to August 2019 (5 months)
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Hired to bring a personal touch to the Warner Bros Studio Tour for Harry Potter fans and film fanatics alike. Using my extensive knowledge of the Harry Potter universe, as well as my passion for film magic, ​it was my responsibility and pleasure to interact with visitors on the tour as they rode brooms, dodged the boughs of the whomping willow, or marveled at the detail and craftsmanship of the various creatures in the special effects displays. I taught wand choreography, operated an animatronic Aragog, ran an UltraSlime booth where we made drool and troll bogeys, and answered questions from visitors about all aspects of the franchise.
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Copies Concordia Inc | Print Production Specialist and Graphic Designer
September 2013 - May 2017 (3 years, 8 months)
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Responsible for preparing files for printing, troubleshooting print projects, and providing customized graphic design services to individuals and companies. Initially hired as a printer operator and promoted to Print Production Specialist and Graphic Designer with additional training and teaching duties.
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Fine Arts Student Alliance (FASA) | Clubs and Services Coordinator
October 2015 - April 2016 (7 months)
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Elected as the Clubs and Services Coordinator by the Concordia Fine Arts student body. Acted as official liaison between the clubs, their diverse members, and FASA members. Promoted events and disseminated information, and was a voting member on the Special Project Grant Jury Boards. Held Office Hours twice per week in the FASA office and advised students on methods of creating and maintaining their clubs and special interest groups.
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Mega Brands | Model Builder and Project Leader, Creative Workshop
November 2011 - July 2012 (9 months)
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Responsible for the design and construction of promotional materials made from Mega Bloks, polyurethane foam, plaster, and other materials. Project leader on major builds ranging from pixel art (where each "pixel" is a single block), to terrain (for displaying toys in stores and at trade shows/conventions), to three-dimensional block sculptures (i.e.: "Master Chief" from Halo).
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Original Kids Theatre Company | Administrative Assistant
October 2004 - August 2005 (11 months)
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Responsible for office management, and maintenance of database of actors, crew, staff and parents. Collated and distributed scripts, schedules and important information to parents and actors. Managed box office during shows. In summer of 2005, was a counsellor for the Camp OK Day Camp for Original Kids with special needs, acting as a personal shadow and assistant to a different camper each day.
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Volunteer Work
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St Thomas High School | Lester B Pearson
February 2015
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Visiting Art Workshop Teacher in an International Baccalaureate English classroom. This was a one-day teaching opportunity. I taught art (book-making) to grade 9 and grade 11.
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February 2016
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Invited back as a visiting Art Workshop Teacher in an International Baccalaureate Social Studies classroom. This was a one-week teaching opportunity in which I taught printmaking (stencil, silkscreen, and styroprint) as part of a unit I helped to write for the students’ social activism project in which they created postcards to send in support of their chosen activist groups.
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St Willibrord Elementary | New Frontiers School Board
January 2015 - January 2015 (1 month)
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Visiting Art Workshop Teacher in a fourth grade classroom. This was a one-day teaching opportunity in which I taught art appreciation and critical language.
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