ARTSPACE SUMMER ARTS PROGRAM FOR YOUTHS

INSTRUCTORS

PARIS ALEXANDER was born and raised in New York City where he studied art since early childhood. Since moving to North Carolina twenty years ago his work has been widely exhibited in galleries, universities and museums, with numerous public and private commissions. His work is included in the collections of Saks Fifth Avenue, SAS Institute, Bill Clinton, Bob Dole, and many others. Paris maintains a studio at Artspace.

VIDABETH BENSEN’s original screenprints reflect 27 years of living and working overseas as a professional artist and teacher. She has a BA in Art Education and an MA in Gifted Education. She teaches adults and children in the Triangle and many other locations in the US and overseas. Vidabeth’s work is in many private and corporate collections.

KATHY BRANCATO has lived in Raleigh, North Carolina with her family for the past 18 years. Previously, she lived in New York and Massachusetts where she was an arts educator. Now that her children are grown, she devotes her time to painting. She has traveled around the country and also overseas, but it the scenery that is just down the road that she enjoys the most. Kathy has a studio in Raleigh and also at Lake Gaston. She is also involved in the Artspace Outreach Program, bringing art to at-risk youths.

LUKE MILLER BUCHANAN is a Raleigh painter and art educator. He graduated form the NCSU School of Architecture in 2002 and has been painting Raleigh's lost spaces since 1999. Each spring Luke works with the Moore Square Magnet School/Contemporary Art Museum project "Raleigh: Past, Present and Future." Luke has also worked as a teaching assistant to Lope Max Diaz at the College of Design, NC State University, Raleigh, NC.

LEE GRUBER CLARK earned a BA in Studio Art and English at the UNC-Chapel Hill and an MFA in Painting at UNC-Greensboro. She has exhibited her work in museums, galleries, and fine art centers across the US. Lee has also enjoyed teaching art to children in the public schools. She currently maintains a studio at Artspace.

JAYNE CLUGGISH received a BFA from Ohio University and an MFA from the State University of NY in Oswego. She has taught art at the elementary level for 19 years, currently at Heartwood Montessori School in Cary. Jayne has been a basketweaver since 1977. However, having a life-long interest in clay, she has always kept her fingers in the “mud.” Jayne has exhibited her work in NC and NY.

JOHN DANCY-JONES has been producing hand-laid paper and letterpress printing on paper since 1977. He operated the Paper Plant bookstore and book arts center in Raleigh from 1982 until 1990. He has published award-winning, small press publications since 1983. John is a science teacher and works with students who have learning challenges. He also has an English degree from UNC-Chapel Hill and a Masters degree in Special Education from NCSU.

SONYA LEIGH DRUM is an arts educator, theatrical designer, and studio artist. She received her BFA in Theater Design and Art Education from UNC-Greensboro and studied at Northwestern University. Sonya has been the resident scenic designer for Peace College Theatre for the past five years and is currently the Lead Scenic Artist for University Theatre at NCSU. She currently teaches art at Washington GT Magnet Elementary School and has taught several performing and visual art camps in the area.

KERRI ECKES received an MFA in 2005 in studio art with a concentration in painting from East Carolina University. Her work is figurative, with a formal interest primarily in color and design. Her current work also shows an interest in women’s issues. Kerri currently teaches drawing, painting, art history, and art appreciation at Mount Olive College in Mount Olive, NC. She is also a Digital Media instructor at the School of Communication Arts in Raleigh, teaching color theory using Photoshop, as well as drawing with traditional media.

SUSAN FENNEL was raised in Japan, so heroic characters like Momotaro (peach boy) and creatures like Kappa (water imp) are never far from her mind! In fact, Susan believes that a Kappa lived in a river that ran along the street of her childhood home. Today Susan lives in Raleigh where as far as she can tell there is no Kappa – but one never knows! She studied art at the Maryland Institute and at Meredith College, and currently teaches Japanese at Broughton High School.

TARRAH GOFORTH is a Raleigh artist and art educator. She earned a BA in studio art from Elon University, and a K-12 teaching license from UNC-Charlotte. She currently teaches art at Wakefield High School, and teaches part-time at Sertoma Arts Center. Tarrah is a member of the Visual Art Exchange and participates in juried and non-juried exhibitions, working mostly as a painter and ceramicist.

JILLIAN GOLDBERG holds a BA in Art Education from the Michaelis School of Art, University of Cape Town, South Africa. In 1986 she founded the Gifted and Talented Development Center at Queens University of Charlotte, NC, which served thousands of students from all over the Southeast. In 1994 she became a licensed instructor in the internationally renowned Monart Drawing Method, opening seven art schools in the Charlotte and Triangle areas. This year Jillian opened a new art school in Cary, named LaranJillzArt.

DAN HOHL is a local stained glass artist with over 25 years of experience. For the past 20 years he has operated the Stained Glass Center in North Raleigh. He has taught numerous classes at his shop, at various community colleges, and in the visiting artist program at Ravenscroft School. Dan has completed numerous glass commissions for homes, chapels, and businesses throughout the area.

EMILY SOLDIN HOWARD is a Raleigh fiber artist and educator. Her focus is working with batik, but she embraces all types of media in her work including printing, stamping, and embellishment. She earned a degree in Studio Art with a concentration in Surface Design from Meredith College in 2001. She is currently pursuing her MFA from East Carolina University.

TANJA KWIATKISTA is a German-licensed childhood educator and movement therapist. Tanja has participated in several art, music, and dance seminars in Europe and West Africa. In the last 10 years she has been teaching kids and young adults with the focus on art and holistic movement. Her experience working with movement, art, and educational studies with youths helped her to develop multi-arts classes for cultural centers throughout Germany. Tanja has also taught for programs focused on promoting self-confidence in kids and teens. In her holistic courses the focus is not on the result but rather on the experience.

PAULA MACLEOD has been a self-taught mosaic artist since 1997. She teaches mosaic techniques at various art centers throughout the Triangle. She has exhibited her mosaics in shows in the US and Ravenna, Italy. She holds a degree from East Carolina University, and was a recipient of the Durham Arts Council Emerging Artist Grant (2000-2001). In June 2005, Paula was featured on HGTV’s Crafters Coast to Coast.

ERIC MCRAY earned a BFA degree at the Maryland Institute, College of Art, Baltimore, MD. His work has been widely exhibited, and has been featured on TV, radio, and in numerous newspapers and magazines. The Raleigh News & Observer named Eric one of the Artists to Watch in 2001 and Metro Magazine has called him the Best Local Artist. His work is featured in numerous corporate collections including throughout the Triangle at the American Tobacco Campus, Duke University Medical Center, NC State University, UNC Chapel Hill, SAS Institute, and Western Wake Hospital. Eric has taught painting and collage to youths and adults throughout NC and currently maintains a studio at Artspace.

RACHEL NICHOLSON began her artistic career in music, then began taking painting classes in 1982. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art from Meredith College, in 1996, and has worked exclusively in felt for more than five years. Rachel has also studied at Penland School of Crafts, NC; Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, TN; John C. Campbell Folk School, NC; and the Art League School, Washington, DC. Rachel recently taught feltmaking at the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair in Asheville and will be teaching at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown this spring.

ELIZABETH NORVAL made her first puppets and put on a puppet show when she was just eleven years old. She created her own Puppetry Company in Zimbabwe in 1985. Shortly after her arrival in the US in 1990, she established the Zambezi Puppets and performed at fairs, museums, schools, and birthday parties in Gainesville, Florida. She has performed her puppetry at Fuller GT Magnet Elementary, where she performs for kindergarteners through second graders. She has also taught an elective Puppetry Class there every year. Elizabeth’s enthusiasm for puppetry is contagious!

KEITH NORVAL received his BFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design, GA, in 2000. A professional painter who works in his Artspace studio, Keith grew up in Zimbabwe and Gainesville, FL. He draws on this background for the subjects in his oil paintings. Keith exhibits his work throughout North Carolina and is collected internationally. He has taught in the Summer Arts Program for the past few years.

ANNA PODRIS received her BFA in Painting at the Savannah College of Art and Design, GA. Podris maintains a studio at Artspace where she creates paintings in oil and encaustics. In addition to teaching at Artspace, Anna has also taught at Pullen Arts Center and the Raleigh Girls Club. Her work has been shown in VA, NY, FL, and locally.

TIM POSTELL received his BFA from East Carolina University and his MFA from the prestigious Hoffberger School of Painting at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Tim now lives in Knightdale and works out of his studio at Artspace. He also teaches art to aspiring artists locally.

ILASAHAI PROUTY is an artist who works in many media including sculpture, printmaking, and public art. She received an MFA in Printmaking from the California College of Arts, was a resident artist at the Penland School of Crafts, and has taught in schools for more than 14 years. She is currently an adjunct faculty member at
Appalachian State University.

LESLIE PRUNEAU is originally from Raleigh but has lived in New York City and Berlin, Germany, pursuing a career in the arts. Her passions lie in multi-media works, drawing, and painting. For ten years Leslie taught adult and youth art classes and camps with the City of Raleigh Parks and Recreation, as well as after-school art programs.

JANE ROBERTS has been an art educator for 24 years in Wake and Johnston Counties. Her classes are described as low stress and highly successful. Jane has received several awards, including Wake County Secondary Teacher of the Year, Racheem Educator of the Year, and NC Middle School Teacher of the Year. Students of every level enjoy the beautiful projects made under her instruction.

REBECCA ROUSSEAU received her BA in Elementary Education at UNC-Chapel Hill. After teaching for 4 years on the Mexican border, she returned to Raleigh to teach and paint in her Cameron Village studio. Rebecca’s art is currently featured on a City of Raleigh CAT bus through the Art-On-the-Move project sponsored by the City of Raleigh Arts Commission. She was recently awarded a grant by the United Arts Council to study at Penland. She is a member of the International Society of Acrylic Painters and the Visual Art Exchange.

GARRETT SCALES, a self-taught artist, has spent the past four-and-a-half years pursuing hand stenciling images on a variety of surfaces, including paper and textiles. His recent works of art have focused primarily on the hip hop culture of the United States. A Raleigh resident, Garrett has shown work at Artspace, and has several exhibitions planned for 2008.

SUSAN SCHUHMACHER is a professional painter and art educator with more than 20 years of teaching experience in NC, SC, and GA public schools. Susan also has experience teaching adults and art educators. She currently offers artist residencies through the United Arts Council in Wake and Johnston Counties. Her work is shown in numerous galleries and is part of many corporate and private collections.

ERIN STESCH has worked for a decade in the public school system as a middle and high school arts instructor. She received her B.F.A. from East Carolina University in 1994 and her Art Education License from UNC-Greensboro. She will be joining us for a week from Greensboro, where she is very active in the art community.

MARY LOUISE TALLEY has more than 6 years of teaching experience and currently teaches art at Root Elementary in Raleigh. She earned a BFA from UNC and has studied at Parson’s School of Design, NY; Corcoran School of Art, Washington, DC; Lorenzo De Medici Art Institute, Italy; Oxford University, England; and St. Mary’s College, Raleigh, NC. Mary Louise has taught in Artspace’s Summer Arts Program for the past several years.

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