About the Director

Terry Laurents has been teaching art for as long as she can remember. It all began with her dolls seated at tiny desks in her San Fernando Valley bedroom. Thousands of art students later, she has created PAINTBOX KIDS, a haven that invites children, parents, grandparents, and friends to roll up their sleeves and dive in to explore, learn, and create art with joyful abandon. Warm, nurturing, and completely unstuffy, Terry’s passionate approach to all things creative inspires, educates and motivates children and adults to experience the joy of creating.

Educated at Pepperdine University and Pacific Oaks College, Terry has developed creative arts programs for numerous elementary schools. She is an Educator at the Norton Simon Museum and is currently consulting with the education departments at Pomona College Museum of Art and the Claremont Museum of Art.

Teaching Artists

Jonelle Pickett

Jonelle is a Pasadena-native who's life has continually revolved around creative projects: From chocolate to clay, paint to textiles, sticks to computers - every material that crosses her hands has creative potential. Her love of the artistic experience led her to a degree in Art Education from Cal State Long Beach, and she maintains a teaching credential with the State of California.

Jonelle has worked with students of all ages, beginning her career at the high school level and then branching out all the way to preschoolers. Her teaching approach is part process and part passion to help her students become energetic and innovative artmakers. While aiming to develop their artistic skills, she encourages the creative process through observation - the art of seeing - curiosity and experimentation. Her lessons draw inspiration from nature, music, the sciences, literature and history, and provide opportunities to integrate technology into artmaking.

Stephanie Neilson

Stephanie Neilson has a BFA from Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia. She has taught art to children and adults and developed an "Artist of the Month" curriculum for grade school children. Her portraits are in private collections across the United States. She is an Educator at the Norton Simon Museum and is excited to be a creative part of Paintbox Kids.

From working with interior designers doing faux finishing and painting murals to making jewelry, mosaics, painting portraits and developing art curriculum for elementary school students, Stephanie has enjoyed it all. She finds children refreshingly uninhibited creatively and continually inspiring to teach. She encourages them to enjoy the process of art making as much as the final result of their efforts.

Maria DeLuca

Maria DeLuca began her musical training at the age of two and studied violin, viola, and trumpet at the Manhattan School of Music and at the Center for Preparatory Studies in Music at Queens College. Maria has taught music for the Southwest Chamber Music Society as well as developed music, theater, and literature curricula for educational organizations such as Parents as Partners and STAR Education. She has performed in Italy, Venezuela, Romania, as well as at Carnegie Hall, and at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center. She currently works as a professional recording artist in Los Angeles and plays viola, trumpet, and sings in the band Le Switch. Her two original musicals, "Harry Heart and the Greatest Jug Band...Ever" and "On The Ranch" received Backstage West's Garland Awards. Maria DeLuca also produced and oversaw the musical direction of The Blue House's production of Peter Weiss' "Marat/Sade" which received the 2006 LA Weekly Theater Award for Best Production of the Year.