University of Maine Art Education Community Outreach

Elise Cyr is currently in her fourth year of Art Education at the University of Maine in Orono. She plans to teach art in K-8 classrooms while going back for her Masters in Art Therapy. She considers her artwork expressive, a visual form of communication as well as therapeutic for the mind and body.

As a young girl making arts and crafts was something she enjoyed doing with her mom. Though out the years she would continue to draw and create meaningful objects. One day her passion of painting was discovered her sophomore year of high school. From then on, painting was Elise's favorite activity.

Elise grew up in central Maine. She is more than ready to explore other parts of the world using her life experiences incorporated in her art making.

Rochelle is a painter and potter and in her final year of the Art Ed program at the University of Maine.  Rochelle studied Studio Art and Art History in Southern California before moving to Manhattan, Seattle and then bouncing around a bit up and down the east coast.  Rochelle settled in Maine nine years ago with her husband and three kids.  After small successes as a studio artist, Rochelle became interested in education and decided to go back to school.  Rochelle looks forward to a long career of making and teaching art.

Amanda is in her final year of the Art Education program at the University of Maine. She grew up in the Belfast area where art is widely celebrated but didn't really find her niche until she went away to high school. There she was introduced to ceramics and it became her passion, which eventually led her to UMaine. Since being at UMaine, Amanda has really enjoyed exploring new mediums and getting to know other artists. 

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After graduation, Amanda wants to travel outside of Maine to learn more about art and different mediums. Eventually, she would like to call an art classroom hers, but she wants to have more experience with all age groups before selecting one. 

Jane Parlee is in her third year of the Art Education program at the University of Maine in Orono. Jane has had an interest in the arts since an early age and enjoys working in many different mediums, especially paints. She graduated from Mount Desert Island High School (MDI) where she was president of the National Arts Honors Society. Jane spent her first year of college at Maine College of Art where she studied Studio Art. She then transferred to the Art Education program, here at the University of Maine after realizing her love for teaching. After Graduating, Jane wishes to travel the country to discover herself as an artist, so hopefully, she can one day help her students find their artistic self.

Hope is a 3rd year Art Education student at UMaine, minoring in Studio Art and Art History. She grew up in Walpole, NH the youngest of 6 children and has a twin sister. Hope has always loved art especially drawing and painting, she hopes to share the skills and appreciation for creating meaningful and expressive art with her students someday.

Lorelei is in her junior year at. UMaine in the Art Education program. She grew up in Brunswick but moved to Portland where she started her education at Southern Maine Community College. She quickly discovered an interest in teaching, graduating first with an Associates in Education K-12, and then continuing on to complete her Fine Arts degree. She then transferred to UMaine to finish her Bachelors. Living in Portland influenced much of her work, using her surroundings to capture an essence of Maine’s environment. Portland has a thriving art community and hosts an art walk every month where Lorelei has had the opportunity to sell her artwork. This pushed her artistic interests in photography and craft-based art. One of her more recent projects was a photography documentary on a local farm where she had the opportunity to spend a summer taking pictures of the farm animals and documenting the hard work of all the employees. Her goal as an educator is to work in a high school where she will be able to prepare students for a world of art after graduation. Showing them how they can appreciate, understand, make, and explore art in their everyday lives.

Emily Neville is a third-year art education student at the University of Maine who minors in studio art and art history. She has always loved making art and creating, she hopes to be able to create and inspire others through her artwork for a very long time! Emily is also is a member of the University’s  Swimming and Diving team, when she’s not diving or making art she enjoys being outdoors, staying active, playing with animals or making memories with family and friends!