Unlock the World of Art and Design with Christine
Learning to look at art and design in a fresh new way
My Teaching Services
What gets me excited.
I’m passionate about art and design and I want to share it with others. My lectures are on art, graphic design, digital media, and design history. Whatever the topic, we look at an artist/designer’s creative process. I want to reveal and interpret the sources of inspiration that shape one’s artistic vision, practice, and work.
To see a list of some of my more recent lectures, click here.
My background
Graphic designer with 20+ years of experience
Master of Arts in Design History from the Parsons School of Design and the Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Associate of Arts degree in Graphics and Advertising from the Parsons School of Design, including a post-graduate seminar in Japan
Bachelor of Art in Art History from Vassar College
Research Assistant to Judith Gura (Author, Art Historian and Professor, New York School of Interior Design) for images and permissions for Postmodern Design Complete. Postmodern Design Complete was named a 2017 New York Times Best Art Book.
To see my recent resume click here.
My goal when I give talks is to inspire.
In my lectures, classes, and workshops, I help audiences see art and design in a fresh new way. As someone with a life-long love of all kinds of art and design, I’m eager to inspire others. I want my audiences to come away from my talks not only knowing more than they did when walked in, but to feel excited about what they’ve just heard and seen and wanting to learn more.
Some places where I’ve given talks.
Community Centers
Westport Center for Senior Activities, Westport, CT
Darien Senior Community Center, Darien, CT
New Canaan Lapham Community Center, New Canaan, CT
Art Schools
New York School of Interior Design, NYC.
Lecture Offerings
Bent, Cast, Forged: The Jewelry of Harry Bertoia
Harry Bertoia was an amazing sculptor, painter, printmaker, musician, and jeweler who worked from the 1940s into the 1960s. In the 1960s, he switched to sculpture fulltime and created Sonambient sound and kinetic sculpture. In my lecture, I highlight Bertoia’s artistic and creative process and show examples from Museum of Art and Design’s (MAD) spectacular retrospective exhibition of his work.
Seeing the Tiffany Studio in a New Light: Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Girls
Louis Comfort Tiffany is hailed as a creative genius in the decorative arts. But Tiffany had a little secret. Until just recently, it was assumed that he designed all of the Tiffany lamps, windows, mosaics and luxury objects. In fact, many of the Tiffany lamps were designed by Clara Driscoll, Tiffany’s head designer, and her “Tiffany Girls.” In my lecture, I shine a light on Driscoll and her creative process in such masterpieces as the Wisteria, Dragonfly and Peony lamp.
Vera Textiles Add Vibrant Color to Everyday Lifes
Vera Neumann, who many know as just “Vera”, is an iconic fashion brand. Her signature motif: the ladybug graphic. Vera’s iconic textile designs grace scarves, blouses, dresses, sleepwear, kitchen textiles, bed linens and dishes. What’s more, they’re collected the world over. They are as fashionable today as they were in the 1960s and 1970s when Vera was at the peak of her career. In my lecture, I will highlight Vera’s many sources of inspiration (tied to her travels around the globe) and trace her creative process for her most brilliant designs.
Donald Deskey: American Modern Designer pioneering America’s Art Deco’ streamlined modern style.
Donald Deskey is one of America’s most famous Modern designers. With Paul Frankl, Deskey established the American Art Deco “streamlined modern” style. He designed apartments for high society such as the Rockefellers, but arguably his most important commission was his interior design of the Palace of American Art Deco at Radio City Music Hall. The fact is, Deskey designed just about everything. He also owned his own furniture company Deskey-Vollmer for which he designed a limited number of pieces. In my lecture, I’ll trace his sources of inspiration and his creative thinking for his projects.
Frank Lloyd Wright: His Pioneering Designs for Buildings and Homes in the New York area
Frank Lloyd Wright was a pioneer in American architecture. In addition to being an architect, he was also a designer and at heart, a fine artist. He breathtakingly created entirely new types of architecture. To wit: Wright designed 12 of the Architectural Record’s 100 most important buildings of the 21st century. Whether he was designing a house or the furniture for that house, Wright’s designs were always aligned with cultural values. In NYC, he is best known for his groundbreaking design of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. In this lecture, we will review his life, considering both his impact and his legacy in shaping the future of living spaces.
Zaha Hadid: Revolutionary British-Iraqi architect, Artist, and Designer
Zaha Hadid was a revolutionary British-Iraqi architect, artist, and designer. Her designs have been described as “planetary.” In this lecture, we will delve into such signature projects as the Aquatics Centre for the 2012 London Olympics, the Broad Art Museum, Rome’s MAXXI Museum, the Guangzhou Opera House and the Vitra Fire Station. We will also go inside the VITRA Museum and see examples of Hadid’s iconic objects, furniture, and interiors.
Michael Graves: Supernova Architect, Designer, Educator
Michael Graves was “one of the most prominent and prolific designers and architects of the late twentieth century.” Graves is widely known for his popular and whimsical product designs, like the world-famous Alessi whistling bird teakettle. He has designed many controversial buildings, such as Portland Public Service Building in Portland, Oregon, the Humana Building in Louisville, Kentucky, and the Dolphin and Swan Hotels at Walt Disney World in Florida. In my lecture, I touch on what inspired Graves growing up and how his experiences helped shape and influenced him into what he became: a Supernova architect, designer, and educator.
Positive feedack
"I thoroughly enjoy Christine’s lectures — they are an in-depth look at the artist, designer or architect that she features. Often, she reveals unusual and important facts about them that are not known to the ordinary person. I always find her lectures very informative and enjoyable. I enjoy learning about an artist or art style that I didn’t know about before (or knew very little about). I especially enjoy listening to the audio interviews in her lectures and hearing the voice of an artist (like Gehry) or seeing a video that shows how Gehry’s ideas and art evolved over the years. Her lectures are at the level of the Art History lectures that I took in college.”
– Kurt Schaaf,
Westport Senior Activities member