from McDowell School — Laguna Niguel, California

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Biography

Ms. Lisa Abbassi - Art Teacher

I grew up in New Hampshire and went to the Cleveland Institute of Art where I got my B.F.A in Weaving and Textile Design in 1980. After graduating I moved back to New Hampshire with my husband and daughter and taught Art for 3 years at a small, private school. Then my family (with the addition of our new daughter) moved to California in 1988 where I enrolled my older daughter in McDowell Elementary School and began teaching the After School Fine Art Program which continues to this day.

I have taught my After School Fine Art Class at most of the private schools in this area: St. Anne’s, St. Mary’s and All Angels, St. John’s Episcopal School, and St. George’s Academy. It was at St. John’s that I first began to teach within a school curriculum in a team teaching situation. After two years I was asked by St. George’s Academy to design and implement an art program for their curriculum. I developed their art program and was there for seven years until the school closed. All the while I continued my After School Art Program at McDowell and St. George’s as well as pursuing my own development as an artist.

When St. George’s Academy closed in 2007 I was in touch with McDowell about starting an Art program and began to develop this art program for them. Because I am an artist myself I try to develop each child’s potential as an artist in a way that is fun and challenging. My goal is to give them a firm grounding in the use of various art mediums, a feeling of confidence in their skills in manipulating those mediums, as well as a functional understanding of color theory, and a basic understanding of some of the most influential artists in history. The program is constantly evolving and adapting on a yearly basis to the student’s growing skills which makes it fun for everyone!

Personal Art Gallery