Art Department - Faculty List

Ms. Marilyn Benkler is the Director of Art at Ma’ayanot. Ms. Benkler, an artist, came to Ma’ayanot in 2003, bringing thirty years of teaching with warmth, intuition, sensitivity and passion from her Rockland County Art Executive Award-nominated studios in New City, N.Y., and Englewood, N.J. As a Holistic Health Counselor, Nutritional Consultant and Lifestyle Coach, certified by Columbia University and The American Association of Drugless Practitioners, and certified in Reiki, she views art as a staple of creativity, and believes that imagination, relaxation, meditation, and fun are essential to health and development. Her credits as an author and an accomplished singer/actor help to color the way she teaches art. A graduate of Ramapo College of New Jersey, Ms. Benkler’s approach in the art studio is to teach a vocabulary of art incorporating hands-on fine-art work in all media, fostering self-exploration, confidence, self-esteem, and motivation; and empowering her students with success, ambition, direction and careers. College Art portfolios and Advanced Placement portfolios are obtainable under her direction. Ms. Benkler has helped build the Ma’ayanot Art Department, teaching ninth through twelfth grades, including A.P. Studio Art.

Mrs. Ivy Weiner has been teaching art for over twenty years. She graduated from The City University of New York with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with Honors. She majored in printmaking—a skill put to use soon afterwards in positions as a master fine art printer for various artists. Mrs. Weiner taught at SAR Academy for six years and currently teaches at Moriah Hebrew Day School in addition to Ma’ayanot. She has won many awards for her work on the Salute to Israel Parade, and has donated her talents and expertise to a variety of schools and organizations. In addition, for the past eleven years she has run a successful faux painting business in Westchester.