I’m Gladiola Sotomayor 
For younger students I let them call me Lola or teacher Lola.
I’ve always loved art and am a full time multi-disciplinary artist which means I do paintings, drawing, printmaking, mixed media, computer art and sculpture. I also write poetry. I have taught all grade levels so I can teach art to young children and beginners and can also give classes to more advanced students. ESL for new learners and Conversational English have also been part of my teaching experience. I have Doctoral Studies from the Center of Advanced Studies of the Caribbean and Puerto Rico. I also have a Masters in Fine Art Education a BA in Elementary Education, a Masters in Bilingual/Bicultural Education and am National Board Certified for Excellence in Teaching a New Language through Art.
I am a professional Studio Artist with an exhibition record  and have won several awards.
My passion for art is so big that I want to share it with others. Children have so much 
expressiveness. It is a visual language and also is perfect for infusing a new language to non-English speakers.
I love teaching art and feel that the knowledge enriches lives and the experience in art making brings joy and satisfaction to the students. It’s also a great way to express feelings that can not be always expressed in words.
I infuse history, language arts and story telling into many of my art classes. Students are not only left with a lovely art piece, but with knowledge about its construction and historical facts that create fantastic conversational  pieces.  Classes are taught with children’s age range , language fluency and artistic capability in mind. So if one child need extra help, I will be there . If another child needs more challenging work, then it can be arranged. The important thing for me is for the child to have an enriching and enjoyable experience in learning a new language and/ or art making.
As a child I used whatever materials I could find around. Sometimes it meant waiting for the mailman so I could open the letters and use the envelopes as drawing paper! Actually, it’s good paper. Even today, I find myself doodling on envelopes while I talk on the phone.

Learning can be fun!
Teacher Lola