Teresa Pereira, with an Art student at Maria Regina High School
Maria Regina High School Visual Arts Instructor, Teresa Pereira, from Yonkers, is among a select group of art educators whose creative artwork is included in the annual National Art Education Association (NAEA) Member Exhibit.
Pereira’s work, which is on display through May 3 on the NAEA website www.arteducators.org, was recently selected by a panel of jurors. It is the latest chapter in her distinguished career as Maria Regina’s acclaimed visual arts teacher who has inspired her students over the past eight years and as an accomplished artist whose paintings have been exhibited in galleries and art fairs throughout Westchester.
She is also a prolific muralist in the region whose murals can be seen in all three branches of the Yonkers Public Library, The Mount Vernon Public Library as well as in several businesses and private residences in the tri-state area. Pereira also collaborated with alumnae Catherine Spaziante (Class of ‘18) and Natalie Gonzalez (Class of ‘19) in painting the mural for the Hartsdale Fire District Station 1.
Pereira was among the 94 selected entries among the 546 peer submissions from the United States, Canada, Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Greece, Lichtenstein, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom. The submissions were reviewed by the jurors for originality and uniqueness, clarity and meaning, innovation and creativity, material usage and medium application and quality of craftsmanship.
“We are honored to showcase your work, ideas, and creative spirit,” wrote Mario Rossero, NAEA Executive Director, in an email sent to Pereira notifying her of the honor.
Speaking about her painting (see attached image), Pereira explained: “I’ve been intrigued with the painting within painting and infinite themes ever since I started painting in college…This painting is a combination of these ideas. I was interested in creating a super-realistic/photographic infinite painting, so I used photos of myself in a photo montage I made in Photoshop, engraved the image onto a sheet of Baltic birchwood, then painted with several thinned layers of oil paint.”
Maria Carozza-McCaffrey (Class of ’99), principal of the renowned all-girls Catholic high school, congratulated Pereira on “achieving this very special recognition by her peers,” adding, “But Teresa’s talents also speak worlds about the tremendous influence she has had on our students in unleashing their latent talent and discovering the joy to express themselves.”
To learn more, visit www.mariaregina.org
