the artist
Maureen Klusza is an artist and educator from Red Bank, New Jersey, who has been drawing since she was 4 years old. After a zillion times of asking her Dad, an artist himself, to draw cartoons for her, he finally said "How about you draw your own?" That ignited Maureen's lifelong love for creating. She went on to earn a BFA in Illustration from the Rochester Institute of Technology.
After college, Maureen taught Pre-K at the Maryland School for the Deaf, then moved to California, where she now teaches high school students digital media at the California School for the Deaf. When her daughter was born in 2011, Maureen started using her American Sign Language drawings to help her toddler express her needs (and reduce some toddler frustration—let's be real, we’ve all been there).
These days, Maureen’s illustrations serve a bigger purpose than just making people smile. They’re used by teachers and counselors to help children explore their emotions and develop coping strategies. By using art, Maureen gives kids a creative way to understand and manage their feelings. Empowering them to express themselves in healthy, positive ways.
In her downtime, Maureen loves cartoons (Pixar fan all the way) and spends her free moments playing Smurfville on her iPad. She lives in California with teenage Shoshannah, and a sweet orange cat named Magmar, who, for the record, never talks back (probably the best listener ever).
Contact
Email: mlklusza@gmail.com