Upcoming shows and Events


Watertown Arts Market
August 17, 2024
Location TBD

Craft NewYork
September 28 & 29th
Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center, NYC, New York

Paradise City Malborough
November 22-24 2024
Royal Plaza Trade Center
Marlborough,MA


PAST SHOWS

Paradise City Northampton
May 25-27
Northampton MA


Presentation to Flint Hills Wisdom Keepers
April 27,2024
Council Grove, KS

Providence Art Club
Providence, RI
4/1/2024-4/18/24

Craft Westport
Nov. 4-5,2023
Westport CT

National Printmaker 75th Biennial Show
Public Reception
Oct. 14, 2023
​Exhibition 10/14-December
855 Commonwealth Ave, Boston
2-5pm 

Paradise City 
Marlboro, MA
Nov. 17-19

Mosesian Art Holiday Show
Watertown, MA Arsenal St
Nov.25 -26

Holiday Craft Morristown
Morristown CT
Dec 1-3

Craft New York 
Sept 30-Oct 1, 2023
Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center 
Sat 10-6 Sun 10-5

2023 Shady Hill Alumni Art Show
March 22,2023 
7:00pm reception 
Specifically for SHS Community
Shady Hill School 178 Coolidge Hill Cambridge MA

Printmaking and social Engagement 
Mosesian Center For the Arts
Exhibit opens March 24,2023 through May 5.
Opening reception Thursday March 30th
321 Arsenal Street Watertown, MA

38th annual Outdoor Crafts Festival of the Bruce Museum
May 20-21 2023
Bruce Museum
1 Museum drive Greenwich CT

23rd Berkshires Arts Festival 
July 1-3
Ski Butternut
380 State Road/Rt 23
Great Barrington, MA

More to come.. waiting on some dates... 
​I will be at the Watertown Arts Fair. It is usually in August. 

2023
The Paradise City Art Festival in Marlboro was wonderful. Thank you to all who came out. Thank you to those who brought my work home. One of the joys in attending these shows is seeing how people react to my work, seeing the faces light up as they discover the movement or sound of the little "seed" within the pods, the questions, and smiles. 
it was a successful show in many ways. One of the other great joys is meeting other artists, being inspired by them and scheming potential collaborations. 




Bio
Born in Boston, Saskia grew up in a family of artists and writers. After a general training in art at the Paris American Academy in France at 17, Saskia received her BFA  with a concentration on ceramics and minor in printmaking. at Kansas State University under Professors Yoshiro Ikeda and James Munce. Graduating at the top of her class and having participated in many exhibitions she then went on to work as a free lance artist in Los Angeles, CA, where she completed several tile installations, decorative murals and exhibited her ceramic work. Leaving California in 1996 she moved to Florence, Italy where she attended the Scuola di Ceramica, Montelupo Fiorentino. While in Italy she continued her art training in diverse disciplines such as fresco painting, mask making and traditional majolica pottery. She continued to work and exhibit her ceramic art in Italy for the next six years. Currently Saskia has returned to Boston, and is working as an Art teacher. She has recently begun working to find a balance between teaching and creating her own work. In her own work and studio time, Saskia has focused her attention on creating her own unique body of work in both printmaking and clay. Recent travels to Japan, have ignited a re-discovery of her passion for printmaking. The images for these, like her pottery, are inspired by a great love of nature and dedicated to exploring a plethora of natural textures, shapes, and forms. 

Saskia is a member of Shepherd and Maudsleigh Printing Studio in West Newton, MA as well as a member of the Boston Printmakers. 

             Saskia G. Van Vactor
 
saskiavanvactor@gmail.com
 
Education                    
Lesley University, Masters in Elementary Education and Art, 2009           
            Shady Hill School/Lesley University Collaboration
            Shady Hill School TTC Program
 
            Scuola d’Ceramiche di Montelupo Fiorentino 1996
Kansas State University, Bachelor of Fine Arts, specializing in ceramic art and printmaking, 1992
            Graduated Cum Laude in Fine Arts
            
            Paris American Academy, Semester Abroad 1984
 
Art Fairs and Exhibitions
2023 Presented Artwork to Wisdom Keepers Gathering of Indigenous People, Council Grove, Kansas
2023 North American Printmakers Biennial, received juror award
2023 Awarded Artist Residency at Shepherd and Maudsleigh Printing Studio
2023 Celebrated exhibition, Providence Art Club , Providence RI
2023 Paradise City Art Festival Marlboro MA
2023 Printmaking and Social Engagement Show, Mosesian Center for the Arts exhibit
2023 Bruce Museum Art Festival Greenwich CT
2022 Guilford Art Festival
2022 CraftNewYork, Lincoln Center, NYC
2021 Watertown Arts Festival
2019 participated and showed work in the Museum of Fine Arts Art in Bloom, Boston, MA
2019 participated CraftBoston Spring Show
2019 participated and showed work in CraftBoston Holiday Show
2018 Participated and showed work at CraftBoston  Spring Show
2018 Participated in SOWA art fairs Boston, MA
2018 Participated and showed art in CraftBoston’s Holiday Show
2017 Participated and showed work in American Craft Association at Lincoln Center      NYC, NY
2017 Participated and showed work in the Berkshires’ Art Festival
2016 Participated and showed work at Bar Harbor ME Art Fair
2016 Participated and showed work at the Artrider Westport, CTArt Fair
2016 Participated in SOWA art fairs in Boston, MA
2016 Showed at Boston’s Nasty Women Art Show 
 
 
2002-2004 Basic Science Partnership (Harvard Medical School) BSP@HMS
Boston, MA – Scientific illustration for educational website and outreach program
 (http://bsp.med.harvard.edu)
1992-2002 Fort Hill Construction & Restoration 
Los Angeles, CA - Staff Artist, responsible for design and/or replication of tile work, murals, faux finishes and design elements incorporated into the construction projects.
Mural Painter
Los Cabo, Baja Peninsula Mexico
Los Angeles, CA
Frankfort, KS
Boston, MA
Florence, Italy
Martha’s Vineyard, MA
1997-1999- Ricceri Studio
Imprunetta, Italy - Artist, Majolica painter and staff artist
1997-1999 Alice Atelier, Theatrical Masks
 Florence Italy - Artist, Painter
1996 Ceramiche D’Arte
Florence, Italy - Artist, Ceramic Sculptor
1995-1996 Chilmark Pottery
Newton, MA - Artist, Store Manager
1995 (summer) Chilmark Pottery,
West Tisbury, MA - Artist, Decorative Potter and Sculptor
1989-91 Kansas State University (KSU)                 
President of KSU Potter’s Guild
Secretary and initial creating member of S.A.V.E, Students’ Awareness of our Vulnerable Environment
Member of Arabic Student Association at KSU
 
 
Teaching Experience
 
2018-2022: Buckingham, Browne, & Nichols
 
            Art Teacher for Grades 1st, 4th, 5th, & 6th
                          Design and teach inquiry based projects which tie into classroom                                                      thematic subjects incorporating the Massachusetts Frameworks
·      Collaborate with classroom teachers
·      Accompany classes to Boston’s art museums
·      Work with teachers to integrate Art into curriculum
·      Write reports twice a year for each student
·      Communicate with parents
·      Worked on an independent project with 1-5  Grade on using Art to enhance literacy skills
 
Created a Global Partnership through Art & Science Integrated Project
            Created a book translated into the 4 languages of participating students
            Worked with a school in Tanzania, Haiti, and a Navajo school in AZ
 
 
2011-2018: The Advent School
 
            Art Teacher for Grades (Pre-K-6) 
·      Design and teach inquiry based projects which tie into classroom                                                       thematic subjects incorporating the Massachusetts Frameworks
·      Collaborate with classroom teachers
·      Accompany classes to Boston’s art museums
·      Work with teachers to integrate Art into curriculum
·      Write reports twice a year for each student
·      Communicate with parents
·      Worked on an independent project with both First and Fifth Grade on using Art to enhance literacy skills
            Director of the Arts program at Advent
·      Display student art
·      Publicize Advent by making student work visible in our community by reaching out to local businesses
·      Organized and initiated our now yearly student art exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts
·      Organize visits from outside artists
·      Collaborate with teachers in bringing Art into the classroom
·      Co-organized and developed Professional Development day for the faculty at the MFA, in exploring how to use the museum to integrate art as a classroom tool or language
·      Wrote, organized and participated in a Professional Development Travel Grant to Italy to learn first-hand about the Reggio Emilia approach and teaching philosophy in regards to its use of Art as a language of study.
·      Served on faculty interview committee during search for new Head of School
·      Attended and conducted workshops on materials for the Advent Reggio Collaborative, 2011-2018
 
Co-Chair of our Boston is Our City committee, finding ways to expand the idea of using Boston as an extension of the classroom
 
2022 Participated in the Sassafras Earth Knowledge Series 
 
2016-2017 Associate Director of Basic Science Partnership
BSP is a program at Harvard Medical School dedicated to the enhancement of science education for students at the middle and high school level. Through a variety of partnerships and summer internships.
 
            2011 3rd grade teacher at Advent
·      Taught language arts, social studies, and geography for the thematic study of
·                 Early American History incorporating the Massachusetts Frameworks.
·      Taught mathematics including Marilyn Burns and Terc curriculum on number sense, multiplication, spatial relationships, and geometry.
·      Designed interdisciplinary units for language arts during Reading Groups, integrating writing, as well as art and drama to assess and strengthen students’ comprehension of texts.
·      Assessed students’ literacy skills using Fontas and Pinnell
·      Took students out on numerous field trips to see the actual historical locations of the events studied in class.
·      Conducted morning meetings, supervised recess and lunch as well as dismissal
·      Interacted with parents via e-mail as well as in person
·      Wrote student reports
·      Kept a weekly blog documenting and describing current projects, themes, strategies and events in the classroom.
·      Served on our admission team to assess prospective students’ social, mathematical, writing, language, and grammatical skills
                                               
2010 – 2011:  Substitute Teaching at:
·      Shady Hill School
·      BB&N Middle School
·      Fayerweather Street School
 
Outreach and Educational Enrichment Activities
 
2016 &’ 17Founding Co-Director of Boston Summer Atelier – “Full STEAM Ahead”
A two-week project-based exploration of a subject through investigations using Science, Themed history, Art, and Mathematics
 
2010 – 2011: Director of Scholastic and International Outreach for the Basic Science  
                        Partnership (BSP) of Harvard Medical School (HMS)
·      Developed curriculum for B-Safe summer science camp at the Epiphany School in Dorchester
·           Worked with EXPLORATIONS, a program developed by HMS Office of Diversity and Community:
Developed inquiry based biology curriculum for Middle School students
                        Facilitated a visit for students from Dearborn Middle School and the                                   Lewis/Higgins School in Roxbury to visit and tour a laboratory at HMS
·      Collaborated with the Universal Learning Centre (ULC) to install and establish the first public library in Pilate, Haiti (http://universallearningcentre.org)                
                        Created a school needs assessment for several of the schools of Pilate
                        Participated in outreach between the library and the schools of Pilate
Planned, advised and physically aided in organization of book collection
                        Organizer of fundraiser for ULC in Boston area
                        Volunteered to go to Haiti to shelve and organize books
·      Collaborated with Matènwa Community Learning Center (http://matenwaclc.org)
·                       Taught Art lessons to each class K-6
·      Developed lesson plans for creating Mother Tongue Books
            
2009 – 2010 Shady Hill School Cambridge, MA                                                                
Apprentice Teacher, Art (Grades 1-7)
·    Taught and developed interdisciplinary units on painting, watercolor, drawing, ink wash and ceramic techniques aligned with each grade’s thematic study and the Massachusetts Frameworks.
·    Observed and taught in the First Grade
                          Using Project Read
                          Both Whole Group and Small Group as well as Individual work
Apprentice Teacher, (Grade 4)
·      Taught language arts, social studies, and geography for the thematic study of ancient Greece.
·      Taught mathematics including Marilyn Burns curriculum on multiplication, spatial relationships, and probability.
·      Designed interdisciplinary units for language arts units on Theras and D’Aulaires Book of Greek Myths integrating writing, as well as art and drama to assess students’ comprehension of text.
·      Served on third grade admission team to assess prospective students’ social, mathematical, writing, language, and grammatical skills.
·      Conducted morning meetings, supervised recess and lunch as well as dismissal
·      Interacted with parents via e-mail as well as in person
1998 - 99 Fossati Scuola de Belle Arte, Florence, Italy                             
·                      Art Teacher in an After-School program (Taught drawing and ceramics to a class of 3- to 9-year-old children)
·                      Undergraduate Art Instructor (Taught ceramic techniques, wheel throwing, hand-building, and slab building)
1993 -Dominions Private School, Los Angeles, CA
Art Teacher, (Grade 2-4)
·                    Developed and taught lessons on watercolor, drawing, ceramics, painting, collage and mask making.
1991-92 Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS.
Graduate Teaching Fellow
·                    Taught Ceramics 101
·                    Responsible for firing student pieces and managing studio
·                    Assessed and graded student work as well as consulted and advised students