About the Facilitator
Zoya Scholis is a local artist, teacher, and owner of Japanese Green Designs.
She can be reached at zoya@ArtForPersonalGrowth.com
To be an Artist is to stare deeply into the open eye of nature.I like experimenting with different modalities, media and techniques. I admire many of the abstract painters of the 20th Century such as Kandinsky, Rothko, Kline, and locally, Joan Savo. My art is often abstract with elements of the figure and nature. I love to share my work and hear what others find meaningful about it.
As a Teacher, my intention is to cooperatively develop an artistic community for the purpose of exploring our talents, and ultimately our potential as humans. I find it thrilling to watch people create and make meaning in their process. It is an honor to witness our exquisite uniqueness.
I am in awe of Japanese esthetics. In 2003 I started a business called Japanese Green Designs. As a designer I make knobs, brooches and buttons using local stones.
Formal EducationCalifornia State University, Hayward (1993), Honors Graduate, Bachelor of Studio Arts.
Chapman University (1995), California Teaching Credential.
Places You May Have Seen My WorkAvery Gallery, Seaside, CA, 2004, 2006
Bialando con la Muerte, Hartnell Gallery, Salinas, CA 2002
Harlan St. Women's Mural Project, San Leandro, CA
Open Studios, Oakland, CA, 1993
Pro-Arts Gallery, Oakland, CA, 1992
JapaneseGreenDesigns.com (in local homes and hardware stores)
Teaching ExperienceHead of Mural Program, Geary Children's Center, San Francisco, CA.
Alisal Community School, Salinas, CA, Bilingual Teacher.
Marina Vista School, Marina, CA, Adult ESL Program Teacher.
Fitch Middle School, Seaside, CA, Art Teacher.
Workshop Facilitation7 years shared leadership in self-led group of Breakfree graduates, Monterey, CA.
3 independent workshops on Creativity and Healing for "Men and Women as Allies."
1997 Sunset Center, Carmel, CA, co-led with Phillip Morgan
2001 Sunset Center, Carmel, CA, co-led with Tim Baily
2005 McGowan House, Monterey, CA, co-led with Matt Johns
2006 Monterey Adult School, Art for Personal Growth classes: Watercolor, Art as Writing, Collage
June 28, 2007 Friends of Jung, McGowan House, Monterey, CA, "Making Art with Your Dreaming Body"
Testimonials"I am a person who has always felt inadequate with regard to the visual arts: unskilled, and lacking in artistic vision. In taking Zoya's collage workshop in the fall, I discovered that the process of collage making is intuitive, and allows me to forget my self-imposed limits, to be playful and uninhibited in exploring what images connect with me and with each other in a compositional theme. This, and the simplicity of using magazine pictures and other materials which please me or touch me in some way, came into play when making my collage. The result was a joy and a surprise."
— Susannah McNamara, Attorney, Prunedale, CA“The Collage workshop given by Zoya Scholis and Matt Johns in October of 2005 was wonderful. We used loosely guided imagery coupled with appreciation and humor. My collage, a triptych, reminds me of my personal vision toward health that the workshop inspired.”
— Amanda Chaffin, Public School Teacher, Salinas, CA
