Arlene Tucker
I am an artist and teacher from Taiwan and the USA. I have bounced around the globe all my life either for family, work or for school. Well, mostly because I’m a very curious person and love learning about about all sorts of things!
When I left Taiwan at the age of 7 I started writing letters to my friends and families. This became an important way of communicating and form of expression. That's what inspired me to create Dear You! I hope you enjoy the art making and pigeon mail as much as I do. https://www.arlenetucker.net/
Here I am making abstract building blocks during my residency at MoKS in Mooste, Estonia. 2014.
Since 1998 I have been teaching English and Art in USA, Czech Republic, Taiwan, Estonia and Finland to people of all ages.
Eliisa Sorvali
I am a visual artist, art teacher and community artist, working in Helsinki, Finland. I love to make art, work as an art teacher and enjoy all the happiness what children bring into our life.
I graduated from the painting department from the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki (MA) and from Aalto University Department of Art Education in Helsinki (MA). I work mainly with mixed media and like to combine something old and new in my work. In the past five years I have been working as a community artist going to many different schools and kindergartens in Finland.
Vanessa Codfried-Beltgens
I am a Graphic Designer @ heart and have a passion for creatively working with children.
As founder of the Emotion Art Module, I aim to intertwine cross-cultural workshops with schools, foundations, communes and corporations. Momentarily active with UNICEF the Netherlands and prospectively others.
Inspired as a Dear You Workshop Leader, I seek to communicate Dear You’s message within Schools, Community Centres and Museums.
Tatjana Knudsen
I'm a teacher and an especially passionate art teacher from Denmark. I work at a primary school in Hinnerup, Denmark. My second job is at an Art School "Hinnerup Billedskole", which I'm very fond of.
To me making art and art teaching is about the process as well as the product. It is during the creative process you get new ideas, and it takes a lot of courage to "kill your darlings", but it can bring interesting artworks alive. Products you wouldn't have thought of in the first place. Lastly, and most important, art is the kind of language all of us can use despite nationality, language, color and sex. It is a way to communicate without a lot of words.
This is why I love making art and being an art teacher, and if you are curious to some of the art projects i do with my students please visit my blog: Meet the Creative part of Me
Anastasia Artemeva
My name is Anastasia Artemeva and I am Russian-Irish artist currently based in Helsinki. I love storytelling and unusual experiences of familiar environments. I enjoy histories of places, guided tours and snail mail. I am excited about meeting new people and making friends.
Fascinated by the myriad of world views that we all share, my goal is to facilitate an understanding between people who are strangers to each other, as we all were once. Through the process of exchange, be it artworks, postcards or glances, we create a presence between us, a new place that didn’t exist before. Moreover, not only do we communicate with another being, but we reflect upon our own selves also.
I am a visual artist, graduated from Limerick School of Art and Design in 2012 and, an experienced teacher, qualified by the University of Cambridge. I have taught English language and art for over 7 years to individuals and groups of all ages, from countries such as Finland, Russia, Ireland and China.
Laia Riera Sanjaume
I love drawing and painting stories, that fluctuate between colours, shapes and stains. Due to my passion for traveling I have lived, studied and worked in different cities across Europe.
After graduating in Fine Arts, I enrolled in Fashion design in Antwerp Academy of Fashion. As part of my interest in art education, I was a lecturer for the Master in fashion in Elisava Design University.
Recently I was the workshop leader for Dear You at Oulunkylä Kindergarten in Finland. We discovered collage through our dear memories.
http://laiaillustration.com
Currently, I live and work as an independent artist and designer between Helsinki and my hometown, Barcelona.
Mathilde Jenssen
I am an Art Director for a design company called 2469 in Oslo and also work with my own company as a set designer making installations for photography and film.
Some of my latest work is available on www.mathildejenssen.no
Rudolf Samohejl is a visual artist currently based in Prague. From September to December 2014, Rudolf was the Dear You Workshop Leader at Central Point International Elementary School in Prague, Czech Republic. He created with the 5th Graders (10-11 year olds) and exchanged artwork with the artists at The English School in Helsinki, Finland. This project was funded by Taiteen edistämiskeskus. http://www.rudolfsamohejl.cz
Nooralotta Ikonen is a visual artist finding my way through our collective imagination. I live in Helsinki, FInland where I illustrate, imagine and learn. I love to draw and take photographs, but I'm also keen on playing with other forms of expression. A finished work in progress driven by joy. Nooralotta was the Dear You Workshop Leader at The English School in Helsinki from September to December 2014. Her 5th Graders will be exchanging with the artists at Central Point International Elementary School in Prague. This project was funded by Taiteen edistämiskeskus. http://laiskia.blogspot.fi
Susanne Jensen teaches at Nuuk Internationale Friskole (6 year olds) http://www.nif.gl/. Susanne er uddannet pædagog og kunstterapeut. Susanne arbejder som kunstterapeut og billedkunstunderviser i eget firma Iluliaq. Susanne har arbejdet med billedkunst i børnehaven Sulunnguit og på Nuuk Internationale Friskole. Susanne har udstillet egne værker på Nipisa, Nuuk Imeq, Spar Bank Vest, GrønlandsBANKEN, Nuuk Kunstmuseum, IQ nAasut og Kalaallit Illuat I København.
Aya Obayashi is from Japan, but currently lives in Finland. After studying to be a picture book artist for children's well-being, she started to work as a designer for an IT company, despite the plan. While working there, she learned about education, child protection, colour psychology, counseling, facilitation etc, not to forget her origin. In Finland, she has been studying well-being, creative methods, therapeutic art and early childhood education. To "make this world better" is one of Aya's biggest dreams in life. To think about a "good society", she always consider children. Are they happy? And if not, the society must be defective. Arts and creative methods are my tools to positively struggle with this severe topic. http://www.ilory.fi/
“Dear You -project enhances art education for children and gives a feeling of success through new aesthetic experiences. Dear You- project contributes to multicultural co-operation with the U.S,Taiwan and Czech Republic. This project binds together the requirements of art education for both national and local curriculum in an excellent way. Dear You- project implements interesting and versatile ways of art education. ”