PROFILE

All About Tanya Lee Ceramics

Tanya Lee Hamm is a female artist educator in the Hudson River Valley that explores character, figure and subjects surrounding nature and spirituality. She graduated from SUNY New Paltz with a bachelors in Visual Art Education, with a concentration in ceramics. After graduating she taught in many different settings and to a diverse population of students, ranging from day habilitation programs for young adults with disabilities, to private schools teaching students aged from 3-12, and to workshops curated for parent and child experience.

She was born in Boston Massachusetts in 1989, but spent most of her life in the small towns found in the Hudson Valley of New York. Here is where she explored her love and interest of everything individualist, wild and alone. Being a latchkey, only child of the 90’s, her time of solitude was where she explored the wilderness of her surroundings, as well as her imagination, and the possibilities it held to create characters, and stories through play and art. As an adult she still finds herself exploring these themes using watercolors, clay and firing process’, but now with a deeper understanding of independence, narrative, nature and persona’s. She tries to live her life weaving her passion for art and story telling in all she does, wether its gardening on her land, cooking for her friends and family, teaching and playing in her home studio, meditating with the tarot, or working on puppets and doll houses to never forget the perspective she cultivated from her childhood.

RESUME

Professional History

EDUCATION

2011-2013

BACHELOR'S OF SCIENCE IN VISUAL ART EDUCATION, SUNY NEW PALTZ, NEW

PALTZ, NY

Major: Visual Arts Education

Concentration: Ceramics

3.45 GPA, Deans List

2007-2011

ASSOCIATES IN ARTS, COLUMBIA-GREENE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, HUDSON, NY

3.50 GPA, Deans List

New York State Initial Certification in Visual Art Education, (K-12).

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

2025-CURRENT

ART EDUCATOR, ICHABOD CRANE CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT, VALATIE, NY

I teach the 4th-8th grade population, as well as all of the self contained classes. I focus on

creating a safe space for my students to explore artistic materials, history, and creative content

that relates to my students lives and the world at large.

2022-2025

ART EDUCATOR, TACONIC HILLS CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT, CRARYVILLE, NY

I taught the 5th-12th grade population. The high school classes I taught were: Studio art,

Advanced 8th grade art, Ceramics I&II, Photography, and Fashion I&II. I did both middle school

and high school art club, and co created with my students 2 murals that focused on diversity and

environmental justice.

2020-2024

DAY HAB ASSISTANT, TRIFORM CAMPHILL COMMUNITY, HUDSON, NY

I was a supporting role in helping teach life skills to a diverse population of young adults with developmental disabilities. In this program I have led the forestry and horse skill program, ran the family and consumer science program teaching food preparation and nutrition, and helped with a ceramic program where we create functional pottery we sell for our community.

2021-2023

LEAD CERAMIC INSTRUCTOR, CATSKILL MONTESSORI SCHOOL, CATSKILL, NY

I was a visiting artist educator who concentrated on ceramics and art education. I educated students ranging from 3-11 years of age about the magic of clay and the materials ability to become nonfunctional or functional art.

2019

LEAD CERAMIC INSTRUCTOR, COMMON GROUND ON THE HILL, MCDANIEL

COLLEGE, WEST MINSTER MD

Lead a week long intergenerational workshop exploring clay mask making centered on ancestry,

story telling and connection.

2019

WOOD FIRE CERAMICS RESIDENCY, SALEM ART WORKS, SALEM, MA Spent 5 days loading, firing and learning about the process of firing a train kiln.

2018-2019

STUDIO ASSISTANT TO ARNIE ZIMMERMAN, ARNIE ZIMMERMAN STUDIO, HUDSON, NY

Helped create glazes, assembling large-scale sculptures, packing large sculptures for shipping, organizing collections, and soda-firing large sculpture. Prepared shows and displays, as well as helping with web design and online presence.

STUDIO SKILS

Ceramics: Wheel throwing, Hand Building, Design and Printing of Decal, Glaze and Clay Development, Electric, Soda and Wood Firing.
Sculpture: Puppet Making, Fabric Arts, Power Tools, Wood, Metal, Video/Audio, Assemblage

Drawing: Ink, Charcoal, Pastel, Graphite
Printmaking: Wood Cut, Silk Screen, Foam Board
Painting: Watercolor, Acrylic, Encaustic, Oil, Gouache
Photography: Canon DSLR, Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop, Studio Lighting, Macro Photography

SHOWS

2023

Alumni Show at Columbia Green Community College