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Teaching Staff
Sharon focuses on foundational art principles, particularly line development, tailored to the cognitive and motor skills of children aged 8 through 12. She employs a range of techniques and exercises designed to help young artists understand and manipulate lines to create form, texture, and perspective in their artwork. By breaking down complex concepts into age-appropriate, engaging lessons, Sharon ensures that her students build a solid artistic foundation. In addition to her work with general education students, Sharon specializes in fostering artistic expression among students with learning disabilities. She adapts her teaching methods to meet the diverse needs of her special needs students, creating an inclusive and supportive environment where each child can thrive. Sharon utilizes multi-sensory approaches, including tactile and visual aids, to make art accessible and enjoyable for all her students. By focusing on individualized instruction and encouraging creative exploration.
Sharon Gallagher Tashjian
Sharon was born and raised in the sunny region of California, on the Monterey Bay. She is an artist and teacher, with a rich history of teaching art at the high school level and conducting teacher in-service courses at California State University, Fresno, and Fresno Pacific University. Additionally, Sharon has taught at the Fresno Metropolitan Museum of Art, History, and Science, where she ran children's art programs for over five years. She served as adjunct staff for the J. Paul Getty Museum-sponsored Discipline-Based Art Education Teacher Summer Institute at California State University, Fresno. Moreover, she created and taught a summer master's children's art program at the Fresno Art Museum.
In the 1990s, Sharon served as the art director for the Kids' Bridge Day Camp at Fresno schools, Bullard Talent, and Gibson, as well as at Fig Garden Village. Over four summers at the High Sierra Arts Camp at Huntington Lake, she inspired and delighted children, fostering their creative expression. Sharon holds a master's degree in English and a minor in art, along with multiple subject program and special education credentials. She trained in her early years at the University of California in her hometown of Santa Cruz and completed her education at California State University, Fresno, Fresno Pacific University, National University, and San Joaquin College of Law. . Since moving from Yosemite, she has focused primarily on incorporating art teaching therapeutically. Since 2019, she has been teaching special needs children in North Santa Barbara County and the Santa Ynez Valley, while writing over a dozen grants to bring art education, cultural, and environmental creative projects to hundreds of children from Vandenberg Space Force Base to multiple school districts in the Central Coast area.
Her special needs students in Central California, ages 4 to 12, have received local and national awards for their art submissions in 2017, 2018, and 2019 at Yosemite National Park, Adams Art Gallery, and Fresno and Madera County art competitions. One of Sharon's greatest joys is encouraging children to explore their creativity and develop their talent while learning skills and appreciating the beauty of their surroundings.