Leadership and Adult Education

 
Christine Claringbold of Eye Pop Art is a leader in Portland's local creative community.  

Over the last six years, she has acted as teacher, panelist, and consultant for artist professional development classes, workshops, and one-on-one lessons. Her focus is on helping artists and craftspeople to improve their business and marketing capacity, providing training on the use of Etsy.com and social media tools for listing and selling artwork and handmade items.  

Christine has taught classes, conducted shop critiques, and provided individual lessons and mentoring through her networks at Trillium Artisans, Hello Craft’s Summit of Awesome, the DIY Lounge at collage, the 100th Monkey Studio, the Salem Art Association, the Ashland Art Center, the PDX Etsy team and I Heart Art: Portland (a collaboration between Etsy, PDX Etsy, Pacific Northwest College of Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Craft).

In June 2012 Christine attended a workshop at Etsy and was trained to participate in a pilot program called Etsy Educators. Please note, this pilot program came to an end in March 2013.

Christine volunteered for two years as the Secretary of I Heart Art: Portland and was employed for six years as the Program Coordinator of the nonprofit recycled arts organization Trillium Artisans. She is currently one of the leaders of the PDX Etsy Team, and a member of the global Eco Etsy Team.  She has been selling her work on Etsy since 2006 and also has many years of experience with consignment, craft show vending, and wholesaling to stores and catalogs.

Art in the Schools

Throughout the life of her business, Christine has been actively engaged in teaching art to young people. She started out in 1999 as a volunteer for the PTA's Applied Arts Committee at Duniway Elementary School, which oversees an award-winning parent-led art education program.  

Christine has also taught mandala painting workshops, ceramics, and other children’s art classes and camps for:

• Oregon College of Art and Craft's Art Adventures camp
• The Regional Arts and Culture Council’s SUN Arts camps
• Tucker-Maxon Oral School
• Portland Parks and Recreation
• Campfire USA
  
• Buckman Elementary School
• Duniway Elementary School
• Atkinson Elementary School
• Kelly Elementary School
• Whitman Elementary School
• Lynch Wood Elementary School
• Sellwood Middle School
• da Vinci Arts Middle School
• Henry Street School for International Studies (New York)
• PAC 8 High School Art Conference
  
• The 100th Monkey Studio
• Portland Children's Museum
• Portland Jewish Academy

Work samples for these projects can be seen at the artist's website.  To see photos of mandala workshops please visit this album on facebook. 

Interested in starting your own parent-led art program?  Read Christine's two-part series on the Etsy blog:

Parents Teach Art: A DIY Approach to Elementary School Art Education

Parents Teach Art, Part Two: Making it Happen