Art has been in Laura Marmol\u2019s blood since childhood. Now Marmol is sharing her passion with the residents of Key Biscayne.<\/p>\n
Marmol, a Key Biscayne resident, teaches art classes, including painting and ceramics for children and people with all abilities at the Key Biscayne Community Center under the banner Art with Laura.<\/p>\n
Classes are scheduled from 6:30-8 p.m., each Tuesday and Thursday, and she’s planning ceramics classes for adults only on Wednesdays and Fridays since it has become popular among the middle-aged and senior citizen populations.<\/p>\n
To reach more kids, Marmol launched spring and summer camps for inspiring young artists in Key Biscayne.<\/p>\n
Marmol said her objective is to empower people with all abilities to become intellectuals, explore and connect people with others who share the same interests.<\/p>\n
“The purpose of Art with Laura is to create an inclusive space where people of all abilities can participate in art, connect with others and integrate into the community,” she said.<\/p>\n
Marmol said one important part of her role is adapting the programs to match their interests, abilities and goals.<\/p>\n
“I want people to discover opportunities that they may not know are available to them,” she said. “I would say that art is not just important, it is essential. For people with different abilities, it can also provide a sense of accomplishment, independence and belonging.”<\/p>\n
Since Marmol launched the classes at the community center 25 years ago, she said the response has been very positive.<\/p>\n
Marmol said Art with Laura is the first program in the Key Biscayne community to reach people with all abilities to participate together.<\/p>\n
“For me, it gives people an opportunity to socialize, communicate, build confidence, develop skills and feel a sense of belonging,” she said. “The students enjoy coming to class and they feel welcome. I see how excited they are to participate and be part of the group, and that means a lot to me.”<\/p>\n
Marmol said ultimately, her vision is to help create a community where recreation is accessible, inclusive and meaningful for everyone.<\/p>\n
“I have been part of the Key Biscayne community for more than 30 years,’ she said. “I have always enjoyed working with people and serving the community.<\/p>\n
Other roles in the community she assumed included teaching ceramics, yoga and she has also worked as a therapeutic massage therapist.<\/p>\n
“These experiences have allowed me to connect with people in many different ways,” Marmol said.<\/p>\n
Marmol said she was studying architecture in college but was injured in an accident and put her plans on hold. While recovering, she started doing ceramics and fell in love with that portion of art.<\/p>\n
Marmol practices art at a studio on the Miami Dade College Kendall campus but she has bigger career plans. She said she recently completed her education in recreational therapy.<\/p>\n
Marmol said her next priority is to prepare for and successfully pass the CTS exam to become a certified therapeutic recreation specialist.<\/p>\n
“The position will allow me to build on my experience and move toward my goal of serving my community through recreational therapy,” she said. “After obtaining my CTRS credential, I would like to pursue a recreational therapist position within my community. My goal is to use recreation to help individuals achieve greater independence, wellness, social connection, confidence and quality of life.”<\/p>\n
Marmol said once she becomes a certified therapeutic recreation specialist, Art with Laura will continue.<\/p>\n
“My vision is to continue creating opportunities where everyone feels included and valued,” she said. “I want Art with Laura to be a place where people can be creative, make connections, build skills, and feel they truly belong in their community.<\/p>\n
“I would like to inspire more instructions to do the same and open opportunities for participation and enjoyment.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Art has been in Laura Marmol\u2019s blood since childhood. Now Marmol is sharing her passion with the residents…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":411597,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[3087,163253,126,163252,163251,123,125,124,10083,163254],"class_list":["post-411596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-art","tag-art-with-laura","tag-key-biscayne","tag-key-biscayne-art","tag-laura-marmol","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news","tag-special-needs","tag-therapeutic-recreation-specialist"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=411596"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411596\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/411597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=411596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=411596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=411596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}