Profile

Art teacher with Connecticut PreK-12 Art Education Professional Certification

Strong teaching experience at the elementary, middle, high school (including AP), and college levels
Degrees in fine arts, education, art history, American studies, and museum studies
Dedicated to promoting a creative, caring, and productive classroom and school
Proficient in curriculum and course development
Developed and launched the AP and Pre-AP art programs with colleagues at GMHS
Teaching portfolio can be viewed at www.cransom.weebly.com

Education
MASTER’S DEGREE, Trinity College, CT (2009)
- American Studies, with a concentration in Museum Studies with focus on American Art History
- “High Pass” Grade Average (“A” letter grade equivalent)
GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ART EDUCATION, Central Connecticut State University, CT (2002)
- 3.75 G.P.A.; two years of full-time graduate work in art education
- Kappa Delta Pi National Honorary Society for Leadership in Education
BACHELOR OF FINE ARTS in Fine Arts and SUBJECT AREA MAJOR in Art History
(B.A. Equivalent), University of Hartford, CT (2000)
- 3.57 G.P.A.; graduated magna cum laude
- Semester Abroad – University of Georgia in Cortona, Italy
- Humanities Center Fellowship; University Honors Program; President’s Award
- Alpha Chi National Academic Honorary Society
- Diverse visual arts background: photography, drawing, painting, printmaking, illustration, sculpture,
ceramics, graphic design, digital art, and Art History

Teaching Experience
GRANBY MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL, Granby, CT (2017-2022)
- Art teacher, 9-12
- Developed and implemented the AP Drawing course; completed the AP Visual Arts Workshop
- Taught Honors “General Portfolio I. and II”, a rigorous, intermediate-level 2D course
- Taught introductory courses “Drawing and Painting” and “Pre-AP Color and Design”
- Developed curriculum and taught the new courses “Art Through History” and “Calligraphy and
Lettering Design”
- Organized and implemented the Annual GMHS Art Shows in collaboration with art department
- AP and Honors students participated in Granby Artists Association Member Shows
- Hill-Stead Museum field trip: collaborated with French department to organize an
Impressionism-themed trip for our art and French classes
- facilitated Art Club and special club projects: a primary school mural, painted chair at Bradley
Airport, Springfield Armory Art Show mural, “Honorable Mention” in the CT Duck Stamp Contest
- Invited to the “Top 10 Luncheon” to speak on behalf of a top graduating senior

NORTHWESTERN CONNECTICUT COMMUNITY COLLEGE, Winsted, CT (2010-2013)

- Faculty in Art History I. and II. undergraduate courses; designed curriculum for ancient to modern art
KELLY LANE INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL, Granby, CT (2006-2017 and 2022-present)
- Art teacher, grades PreK-6
- Art Show and Literacy Event (2024)
- camping-themed family event showcased art work by every student along with literacy activities
- collaborated with literacy teachers to plan, organize, and implement this 3-day event
- Elementary Art Exhibit at the Granby Public Library (2024)
- collaborated with intermediate school for an exhibit to showcase art education to the public
- organized a “Family and Friends Reception” to honor student artists
- Article published in School Arts national art education magazine; “Colonial Landscapes” article
focused on an American architecture, printmaking, and drawing unit
- Focus on critical thinking and 21st-century skills through fine arts
- Organized Norman Rockwell Museum annual field trips
- Directed a student-designed alphabet mural in the school library
- Recieved a grant for “Picasso People” and “Calder Re-Wired” theater programs for school

SINAI SCHOOL at Mount Sinai Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut (2005-2006)

- Art teacher for students in a residential psychiatric program (grades 1-12)
- In-depth experience with students with psychiatric, emotional, behavioral, and Special Education
needs; Non-Violent Crisis Intervention (NCI) training

TWO RIVERS MAGNET MIDDLE SCHOOL (CREC), East Hartford, CT (2002-2005)

- Designed the art curriculum using the Understanding by Design model
- Experience with students of diverse backgrounds
- Combined technology with traditional media, art criticism, and art history to create a dynamic,
well-rounded art program with strong technology components

Recent Skill Advancement and Honors

CALLIGRAPHY and ILLUSTRATION CLASSES, Granby, CT
GRAPHIC DESIGN COURSE, Connecticut Community College
WATERCOLOR ILLUSTRATION COURSE, Online Class
TASSY WALDEN BOOK AWARD, HONORABLE MENTION (2016)
- Award for my illustrated children’s book
SELF-PUBLISHED ILLUSTRATED BOOK, Amazing Animals A to Z (2013)
- Wrote alliterative text and created colored pencil illustrations

Related Experience
NOAH WEBSTER HOUSE, West Hartford, Connecticut (2006-2008)
- Museum Educator; designed curriculum and taught programs for school groups
CONNECTICUT HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Photograph Archives Intern (2000)
- Learned technical skills pertaining to archival preservation and research
WADSWORTH ATHENEUM, Modern Art/ Archives Intern (1999)
- Worked with curators on a project which documented the restoration of an historic Hartford home
ART HISTORY and ART-MAKING TRAVEL IN EUROPE
PROFESSIONAL ART EXHIBITS:
- All Aboard Litchfield County, A Bear Affair, and UConn Husky Trail (large-scale sculpture exhibits)
- CCSU Teacher Education Exhibit, CT
- Rural Icons Solo Exhibit and Images of Harwinton Exhibit, Harwinton Public Library, CT
- B.F.A. Photography Exhibition, Alexander Goldfarb Juried Exhibitions, University of Hartford, CT
- University of Hartford Permanent Collection, CT
- Artwell Annual Juried Competitions, Torrington, CT
- Etruscan Museum Exhibit, Cortona, Italy