Visual Art

Mr. Harbourt has over 15 years of art education experience, including Community College, Middle School and High School.  Before becoming a teacher he worked as a Graphic Designer for nearly a decade before getting the teaching bug.  After six years teaching art at Hale Charter Academy, Mr. Harbourt transitioned to High School where he currently is the Co-chair of the Visual and Performing Arts Department.  Other than collaborating with teachers and administrators to develop the VAPA Program, he helped pilot Visual Arts integration into the 9th grade curriculum for the Humanitas Program.  He also started the first V.P.A. credit based program into the Independent Study Program.  His AP Studio Art class has won several prestigious awards and many of his students have majored in career-driven creative fields at some of the top art schools in the country.  Mr. Harbourt graduated with a B.F.A. in Illustration from Syracuse University and earned his teaching credential from CSUN with top honors.  In his free time, he enjoys traveling, trail running, hanging out with family and friends, and of course creating art.

Mr. Cole is a visual artist specializing in drawing and earned both his bachelor’s in drawing and his teaching credential from CSUN. After getting his degree, he moved to Japan to work as a teacher for a year before returning to California to teach. He has taught art for five years before coming here to El Camino to teach drawing classes. He believes that everyone can be taught how to draw, and that creativity is a vital part of human life. 

Ms. Gooze graduated from El Camino in 2001.  She has been teaching Design and Drawing at El Camino for 4 years, in the same classroom that she had art class in when she was a student! She has been teaching High School and Middle School Art for 12 years total. She graduated from UCLA with a degree in Studio Art in 2005.  She earned her Master’s degree in Educational Technology in 2011 from CSUN.  She enjoys experimenting with many different types of art mediums including painting, drawing, collage and digital media.  She is very inspired by modern art movements including Expressionism, Surrealism, and Pop Art. Her teaching objective is to make Art relevant to students by connecting what is learned in Art class to other disciplines and the real world. Her goals for students are to help them realize that Art and Design exists all around them.  She aims for students to develop their critical thinking skills by creating art and also for students to be able to express their feelings, interests, and ideas.

Ms. Conte is a photographer, visual artist, and educator who was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Photography from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2017, and her Teaching Credential from California State University, Northridge in 2020. In her spare time, Ms. Conte loves reading, writing, camping, and traveling. Her approach as an educator is to instill a growth mindset in all students, providing students with the framework to embrace the process rather than fearing the result. She believes that teaching art has as much to do with teaching creative problem solving, empathy, persistence, and reflection as it does with teaching craftsmanship.