Faculty
Jean Adams
Jean Reiter Adams is a native of Bergen County, New Jersey. She earned her Bachelors of Arts degree in Art Education from Wilkes College in 1978. Since 1985, Jean has been teaching in the Art Department at Wilkes University, teaching both ceramic and survey classes. While she considers working at the potter’s wheel to be her first love, Jean has been teaching hand building techniques along with wheel throwing for the past thirty-seven years.
“I enjoy making quiet and simple pots that you can live with and react to on a daily basis. I want my pots to serve a purpose, but also stand on their own as strong visual objects. I am intrigued with how clay works; it is fluid by nature, then fixed, and fragile in its final form. I grew up in a house that valued working with your hands and the value of good craftsmanship. I have worked in clay since 1976 because I love the medium and that love has helped me stay excited for all these years. I strive for the highest quality that my abilities allow me to achieve – which is what I also look for in my students.”
Jean is a resident of Blue Bell, PA.
Deena Ball
Deena’s website: https://deenasball.com/
Deena S. Ball is a teaching and exhibiting fine artist in the Philadelphia area. Current exhibitions are primarily watercolor landscapes, many of which use a textured ground on Strathmore Plate Bristol, Ampersand Board or Yupo synthetic paper. She exhibits in numerous galleries throughout the mid-Atlantic region, as well as art festivals, juried and invitational nationwide shows. Most recently her work was included in the National Watercolor Society’s exhibition in California. Deena’s innovative watercolor paintings have been published in Splash 12 and Splash 13. An article about her paintings and techniques appeared in Watercolor Artist Magazine in 2012 and a second article was published in late 2013.
Deena teaches watercolor painting on Wednesday mornings and other special watercolor workshops at the Arts Center. Go to classes tab to sign up for the currently registering Semester.
Nancy Barch
Instructor
Nancy has taught at CAC for over 12 years. She teaches both yearly classes and workshops of various media. As a signature member of the American Watercolor Society, the National Watercolor Society, and the Philadelphia Water Color Society, the work of Delaware County Artist Nancy has traversed the United States. She has garnered a number of coveted awards for her work in a variety a media including Best of Show in the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society. This year, 100 Artists of the Mid Atlantic, published by Amazon.com books, has a feature article on Nancy’s experimental work. www.nancybarch.com
Nadia W. Bond
Nadia’s Webpage: www.thepottersguild.com
Working as an Interior Designer for more than thirty years has given me a love of grace and line I try to incorporate into the pieces I throw. I consider myself not just a potter, but an artist trying to find beauty in clay. Recently, I have been experimenting with combining my love of hand building and sculpting clay with the pieces I throw on the wheel. This has taken my work into a new and exciting level of design.
I believe we never stop learning. Everyday is a new day to explore the clay, and learn how far we can push and pull our way to a beautiful work of art.
Nadia teaches workshops: gas glazes, bat making and Psyanki Egg decorating at the Arts Center on select weekends. Go to classes tab to sign up for the currently registering Semester.
Effie Brenner
Effie’s webpage: http://paleoelegance.com/effie-brenner
Effie Brenner is a graduate of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and is a member of the Potter’s Guild. She has extensive experience in hand built ceramics with a concentration on the ancient coil technique. Her pieces have won awards in regional art shows, have been exhibited in galleries and can be found in prominent collections in the U.S and abroad.
Effie teaches handbuilt pottery specializing in the use of coil on Friday morning at the Arts Center. Go to classes tab to sign up for the currently registering Semester.
Lisa Burger-Lentz
Lisa’s Website: www.lisaburgerlentz.com
I am a graduate of the Certificate program at PAFA in painting and printmaking. I participate in several area Plein Air painting events such as Saranac Plein Air Festival and Brandywine Valley Plein Air. I am a printshop assistant at PAFA on Wednesday nights in exchange for access to the printshop. I have taught drawing at various art centers including CAC and have recently begun teaching Printmaking 101 at CAC.
Robert Deane
Bob Deane is a potter and painter who was raised in the Media, PA area. He earned a B.F.A in Ceramics from Bloomsburg University in 1988. His work has been shown in many local stores and galleries. Recently, Bob has been immersed in working with local creek clay and discovering the connection between the ground he walks on and the artwork he creates. He currently teaches at the Community Arts Center in Wallingford, PA, at the Mainline Art Center and the Wayne Arts Center both on Philadelphia’s Main Line. Bob has been a member of the Potters Guild since 1991.
Bob teaches handbuilt pottery and the wheel on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at the Arts Center. Go to classes tab to sign up for the currently registering Semester.
Laura Demme
Laura’s Website: www.thepottersguild.com
As an artist working in various media, Laura Demme’s art education began early as the daughter of an artist. Drawing, painting and sewing from the age of six, Laura continued her study through high school, then a year living at Peters Valley Craft School. Originally drawn to weaving, spinning and dyeing, Laura realized the versatility of Off the Loom techniques such as crocheting, knitting and embroidery. Moving to NYC, Laura worked as a Crafts Designer and Assistant Editor at Good Housekeeping Magazine and contributed designs to Voque Knitting, Needlework, and other publications. As a Free Lance Designer for 14 Years in NYC, Laura worked with design houses contributing unique knit designs and inspiration to Geoffrey Beene, Ralph Lauren and many others. Laura then started painting. Laura’s work in oil on canvas and gessoed paper showed at a few invitationals in NYC and Art Shows in Atlanta and Rice University in Texas. Laura then retired from the textile industry, and married, gave birth to a daughter and took up Ceramics. Concentrating on Raku Firing and other Low Fire techniques Laura uses her mixed media sensibility to create Mixed Media figures, Vignettes, Sculpture and many other decorative pieces. Her continued exploration of technique and media include concrete, metal work (jewelry and steel welding), encaustic and acrylic abstract painting and gardening. Whenever she needs to know about something Laura takes a workshop with whoever is the definitive person. Laura Demme is a juried member of the Pa Guild of Craftsmen and a Potters Guild Member. She teaches Raku Firing, Hand Building and Encaustic Painting at Community Arts Center, Wayne Art Center and Cheltenham Center for the Arts. You can look forward to integrating all that I have learned and experienced into my artwork, to fully express what it is to be an artist, and to inspire others to explore and expand their horizons.
Laura teaches handbuilt pottery specializing in the use of raku and alternative firing on Wednesdays at the Arts Center. Go to classes tab to sign up for the currently registering Semester.
Sara Dolan
Sara Dolan is a long time CAC Summer Spree teaching artist who is also a teacher at Christ Church preschool in Media during the school year. She began practicing the art of Ebru, a traditional Turkish art form that creates magnificent marbled papers and fabrics, about a year ago and now is happy to share her skills with people interested in this beautiful and exciting art form.
Tracy Everly
Instructor
Tracy is an award-winning painter who lives in Bucks County. She uses oil paint to explore the fleeting experience of being human and observes and paints and distills different moments into a simplified form that is ultimately meant to capture the remains or accumulation of an experience as it slips away. Known for many years as a painter of still lifes and landscapes, Tracy continues her explorations of structural forms by working from photographs, drawings and memory.
Tracy has studied occasionally at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, but she is largely self-taught, having put together an educational path held together by dogged determination and love of art. She shows paintings at Morpeth Contemporary in Hopewell, New Jersey, Edgewater Gallery in Middlebury Vermont, and through Sugarlift online. Tracy has had work included in exhibitions throughout the United States and has been painting and making art for more than 20 years. To learn more about her, please visit tracyeverly.com or Instagram.com/tracyeverly.
Margaret Ewing
Margaret was born and educated in California where she studied Fine Art at Long Beach State. She received a scholarship to Moore College of Art and Design, where she completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts with an emphasis in Graphic Design. She has been teaching at CAC for the past 16 years first in young children classes and Outreach at Chester Upland. She now teaches Lego Adventure classes, and Movie Making at CAC, as well as Drawing and Painting Classes at Plush Mill Senior Living in Wallingford.
Brad Hagmayer
Brad Hagmayer is a Ceramic Artist from Royersford, Pennsylvania. Beyond Royersford,
Brad has been doing art since a young child and has won numerous awards in several mediums. A graduate of Bloomsburg University in Bloomsburg Pennsylvania, with a BA in Art Studio, in 1988.
Brad has focused his talents in the last ten years on his ceramic arts. He is a member of the Community Arts Center in Wallingford, Pennsylvania where he is known for his Octopus, Mushrooms, Rabbits and French Bulldogs as well as a few other creatures. He works with both Low Fire and High Fire clays and glazes and dabbles in Raku as well.
Brad has also practically used his admiration with animals by spending his adult life working in the Veterinary Field and is currently a Practice Manager for a veterinary office in the western suburbs of Philadelphia.
Gail Herring
Gail Ann Herring is a graduate of Kutztown University (BS in Art Education), and also Maryland Institute College of Art (MFA). A personal interest in botanical subjects lead her to study at the New York Botanical Garden, where Gail worked at mastering scientific illustration techniques, and completed the certificate program in Botanical Illustration. As a teaching artist, Gail has worked with students of all ages in youth classes and adult workshop settings, as an artist-in-residence (age 3 – high school), and as an adjunct instructor in Early Childhood Arts Education (college). Gail has engaged in numerous collaborations with artists, teachers, and community-based programs to develop and mentor arts-integrated learning experiences focused on literacy and the arts.
Gail teacher drawing fundamentals to children and botanical drawing to adults each semester. Go to the classes tab select the semester you want to register for and Gail’s name for more information and to register.
Camille Holstein
Camille has been a student of the path of yoga since 2000. Her study and training in Yoga has been influenced by Vinyasa flow yoga as a form of moving meditation. Her classes focus on increasing overall well-being, stress relief, compassionate awareness, and integrating modern application of the 8-limbed path of yoga on and off the mat. She holds multiple certifications including pre-natal yoga, kids empowerment yoga, trauma-informed yoga, yin and restorative yoga, and mindfulness meditation. Camille believes that the ancient art and science and physical practice of yoga seeped in mindfulness can create harmony in the body, mind and spirit while providing an antidote for the busy, modern life. Her goal is to offer yoga and meditation classes that are inclusive and accessible by inviting students honor their bodies and mind in the moment and deepen their connection to self and community. She is a also a mom of four children and is currently pursing a Masters of Public Health at West Chester University.
Bridget Hughes
Bridget’s Webpage: www.thepottersguild.com
When I started working with clay in 1996, it was the once a week creative outlet I had while working multiple jobs. It continued this way for many years although the jobs were eventually replaced with multiple children. As my children grew older and I could devote more time to clay, my hobby became my passion. I was an Associate at the Community Arts Center in Wallingford for many years before becoming a member of the Potters Guild. I teach hand-building at the Community Arts Center and sell my work both locally and nationally.
Bridget teaches handbuilding ceramic classes on Monday night and Tuesday mornings each semester and Clay Fun on Friday workshops. Go to classes tab select a semester and Bridget’s name for more information and to register.
Joel Keener
Instructor
“Residing and working in Claymont Delaware, Joel considers himself to be a realist with a traditional fine art background. Having worked in various mediums from pencil to cast bronze sculpture, his passion for art began in high school and after 57 years, this passion is vibrant as ever. After serving in Viet Nam, he was accepted to college and further graduated with a Master’s in Fine Arts Degree in Sculpture. Joel has exhibited internationally, and his work adorns numerous private collections. Now retired from teaching fine art and design in higher education, he devotes much of his time to sculpture and drawing. He has crafted his drawing techniques which he calls energy drawings and messy lines to a fine art teachable discipline. His energy drawings won him numerous awards in numerous Science Fiction and Fantasy Art shows from 1998 to 2012. He subscribes to the idea that with this technique, almost anyone can create dynamic and beautiful drawings. His drawings range from softly toned nudes and portraits to wildly abandoned pencil and eraser strokes that burst from the paper and draw the viewer into the work with intriguing detail.”
Website: https://myownlines.com
Patti Kelly
Patti Kelly is a multidisciplinary, self- taught artist who works in botanical arts and photography. She is inspired by the natural landscape, plants, and botanicals that surround her. An explorer from a young age, she continues to travel, hike, and observe lands close and far. She has studied locally at Longwood Gardens and acquiring hands-on experience from talented international floral designers in the industry. Kelly exhibits at the world- renowned Philadelphia Flower Show, where her work is recognized and awarded. Kelly has over 15 years of teaching experience working with all age groups, including those with different learning abilities. Recently, Kelly worked on a farm where she learned how to grow organic fruits, vegetables, and flowers from seed. Currently, she volunteers her time on a local farm, continuing to learn optimal flower-growing practices and offers Botanical workshops here at the CAC in flower arranging, wreath making and photography. She teaches at the CAC Summer Spree, children’s visual arts summer camp. Kelly has a BA in Journalism, from Temple University.
Matiko Mamaladze
Matiko Mamaladze was born in 1964 in Tbilisi, Georgia. She grew up in an artistic family, surrounded by her mother’s and grandfather’s paintings. They were a source of inspiration to Matiko and encouraged her to study art. The creative atmosphere she was immersed in influenced her to such an extent, that from early times drawing and painting became necessities she couldn’t imagine herself without. Matiko studied in the Nikoladze Art School and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Tbilisi. Matiko’s work is figurative and centers on subjects, which she finds unique and interesting. Matiko Mamaladze is an award-winning artist and her paintings can be found in many private collections across Europe and The United States. http://www.matiko.us/
Matiko teach’s a drawing class on Monday’s and a oil painting class on Friday’s here at the CAC. Go to the classes tab, select a semester and Matiko’s name for more information and to register.
Erika Matyok
Instructor
Erika Matyok is a local Art Teacher and professional Artist. She teaches aspiring young artists at an elementary school in Garnet Valley, Pa and specializes in custom murals, mandala workshops, kids and adult visual art classes. Matyok maintains an active art studio and exhibits her artwork in local galleries throughout the Philadelphia region
Dori McClennen
Instructor
I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from the University of Pennsylvania and was a middle school teacher in Philadelphia before my children were born. Now as a second career, I’m teaching Beginning Jewelry at the CAC and occasional workshops at Blue Santa Beads. I enjoy taking Interweave classes from teachers around the country in my spare time and I’ve also dabbled in oil painting, watercolors, and pottery.
John Meehan
John T. Meehan III was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Tyler School of Art at Temple University, in 1982 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting. In 1993, he received a Masters of Fine Arts in Painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. John’s paintings can be seen at Jon Law’s Gallery and Frame Shop in Surf City on Long Beach Island, NJ, at the William Ris Gallery in Stone Harbor, NJ, and the Main Street Gallery in Manasquan, NJ.
Alice Meyer-Wallace
Alice Meyer Wallace, born in Philadelphia in 1941, lives and teaches painting in Naousa, Paros, Greece.
She graduated from RISD in 1963, European Honors program final year in Italy (1963), has lived in Majorca, Spain where she has a house and Paros, Greece where she has a converted goat shed.
She hibernates each winter in Pennsylvania, where she paints and teaches and keeps warm. She taught at the Aegean Center of Fine Arts for 10 years in Paros. Has illustrated children’s books. Teaches now at the Main Line Art Center, the Chester Springs School, and The Plastic Club in Pa.
Watercolors can be seen at Yria in Lefkis, Paros, Greece.
Jane Miluski
Jane has co-taught plein air workshops in Tuscany, Scotland and Sicily, and has taken groups to Jamaica to paint on location. She also conducts workshops for groups in the tri-state area. Her work was featured in American Artist magazine in 2004. A signature member of both the Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Watercolor Societies, she was the first woman elected president of the Philadelphia Watercolor Society. She has also served on the boards of the Rittenhouse Square Fine Arts Annual, the Delaware Valley Art League, the Artists Guild of Delaware County, and the Community Arts Center. http://www.janebmiluski.com/
Olga Nielsen
Olga Nielsen is a portrait and figurative artist, sculptor and educator, a Portrait Society of America Signature Status member, and a National Sculpture Society Elected member. She was born in Russia and received an art education in Moscow, in the classical realistic tradition. Before immigrating to the United States, Olga spent the summer of 1981 in Italy, studying art and decided to focus on sculpture. She went back to school, to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts to study sculpture.
Olga Nielsen has exhibited in numerous solo and group shows in Delaware Valley, and in the national and international exhibitions and received many awards for her works, including Exceptional Merit Award at the Portrait Society of America
2015 International competition, and Fine Arts Connoisseur Magazine Award at the National Sculpture Society 82nd Juried Exhibition. Several of her drawings are published in “Strokes of Genius, Best of Drawing” books, many of her sculptures are in private collections, and several are commissioned public works.
Pete Prown
Instructor
About the Artist:
Artist Pete Prown has led an exciting career as a journalist in both the music business and gardening world, as well as being a photographer and author. For the past 25 years, he’s also honed his skills as a painter specializing in wildlife and portraits, still life, landscapes, and botanicals. He has many collectors in the Philadelphia region.
Artist’s Statement:
“Much of my work involves memory and contemplation. I spend a great deal of time seeking these ideals in my art, music, writing, and outdoor explorations. They are all interrelated – if I’m walking, I’m thinking about painting or music, while my creative endeavors are frequently about seeking the calm of Nature. In my mind, they’re one and the same. I grew up in Connecticut and Vermont, surrounded by farms, pastures, and wooded landscapes, and this is reflected in my paintings. Everything seems to refer back to that idea, along with my 20-years of work in the professional-gardening sphere of Philadelphia. My ongoing work is about digging deeper
into my memories and recapturing my rural reveries. Among the varied artists that appeal to me include Andrew Wyeth, Martin Johnson Heade, Raphaelle Peale, William Trost Richards, Jasper Johns, Asher B. Durand, N.C. Wyeth, and George Stubbs.”
Michelle Rothwell
Michelle Rothwell is currently an associate professor and the program director of the new Game Art BFA program. During her career in academia, she has designed multiple degree programs – and dozens of courses – for other colleges and universities in 3D Computer Graphics, Multimedia and Game Design.
Michelle earned her master’s degree in Industrial Design from the University of the Arts in 1997. She has a bachelor’s degree in Studio Art from the University of Rhode Island.
Mrs. Rothwell has more than 30 years’ experience in technology-based art and design. She has served in a wide range of professional roles, including director of Information Architecture, Interaction/Interface and Web Designer, and Virtual Reality researcher. In addition, she has worked on software and product development teams for DuPont. Her client list includes Proctor & Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline, Merrill Lynch, AstraZeneca, SAP, Qwest Communications and Unisys.
Mrs. Rothwell is a practicing fine artist. Her work is inspired by the interplay between the functional elegance of nature and the manifestation of human culture. Her original, hyper-realistic virtual-sculptures are developed using the same digital-3D tools that produce video games and animated films. Michelle’s work has been shown nationally in both solo and group shows.
Mrs. Rothwell is also the founder of Holistic Creativity, LLC, a system for inspired productivity using a holistic process for self-evaluation and development. It combines the latest knowledge and best practices from traditional studio techniques, contemporary design theories, cutting-edge neuroscience research and timeless spiritual principles. The result is a comprehensive approach for stimulating creativity and productivity that serves both individuals and teams.
Karen Sacks
Karen Sacks is a teaching artist living in Wynnewood, PA. She graduated with a BFA from Clark University and studied both Ceramics and Illustration at the Philadelphia College of Art. She is presently identified with the “Slab to Fab” pottery classes she developed and teaches. New to her repertoire are classes and workshops using paperclay, a nontraditional clay that defies the usual “rules” that apply to traditional clay. No matter what materials are being used, Karen’s creative approach to teaching generates a satisfying experience when working with clay and is geared to everyone who has ever been frustrated trying to make a finished pot, platter or serving piece.
In addition to her teaching duties, Karen is a member of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen as well as the Haverford Guild of Craftsman. She is also a founding member of the “Knitsters”, a group of knitting artists. When she is not playing with clay you can find her quilting, reading or enjoying her children.
Carol Seymour
Carol’s webpage: http://www.thepottersguild.com/carol-seymour/
Carol Seymour has been with the CAC for nearly 40 years and the ceramics coordinator since 2000. She is also a member’s of the Potter’s Guild. “I love making functional everyday pottery. The feel of forming a bowl or a pitcher, and the thrill of hearing that someone has been using my pots for years never gets old. And being able to transmit my skills and my passion to students is very rewarding. Who could ask for anything more?”
Ann Suchecki
Ann’s Webpage: http://www.thepottersguild.com/ann-suchecki/
Ann Suchecki has a Masters of Arts in Ceramics from the University of Louisville and maintains a studio in Media, Pennsylvania. Her love of the material and interest in sharing that love with others has made me a passionate teacher. She teaches ceramics classes at the Community Arts Center of Wallingford and kindergarten at The School in Rose Valley and member of the Potters Guild. You can contact her at sucheckipottery@rcn.com
Ariel Weiss
Ariel Weiss has danced her whole life and earned her Masters degree in Movement and Dance from Wesleyan University. She delights in moving to music as often as possible. A modern dancer and choreographer, Ariel toured her solo repertoire to the Philly Fringe Festival as well as to Toronto, Atlanta, Albuquerque and New York. She discovered West Coast Swing 9 years ago and can’t get enough! She loves sharing her passion for movement and is a certified Alexander Technique teacher, helping people of ll ages move freely and come into mind-body balance. www.atphila.com.
Ariel Weiss
Alexander Technique Philadelphia
610.506.2987
Kate White
Kate’s webpage: http://www.thepottersguild.com/artists#/kate-white
Kate White teaches mixed media and ceramics every weekday at the CAC and has been a member of the Potter’s Guild since 2006. “I’ve always loved to paint and draw ever since I can remember. When I was a young girl I was given pottery lessons with Ricky Wolfe in her Swarthmore studio but it wasn’t until I was attending West Chester University, studying Philosophy that I decided to take a pottery class as an elective and I fell in love with it. I took every ceramics class that was offered there and then I started taking classes at CAC.”
Lisa Dawn White
To create her botanical arts, Lisa Dawn White peruses nature’s classrooms of forest, fields and gardens with a playful sense of “what will I find today?” Through Lisa’s work, you may observe the language of nature as evidenced through her repeating patterns and symbols. Lisa holds a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and a master’s degree in horticulture —combined with a certification in Homeopathy, her interest in how humans use plants for food, fiber, medicine, art, decoration, healing and beauty is longstanding. Her line of botanical arts includes mixed media collage, pressed flower jewelry, ecoprinted textiles and digitally rendered wearable art. Along with having designed for catalogs and published articles in magazines, Lisa has had her work carried in over one hundred shops and galleries throughout North America. She now also offers her botanical arts line via her Etsy shop, LinenandLotus.
Carl Witzel
Instructor
Discovering Ourselves through Art
It has long been my goal to spread the Joy of discovery and creativity – the kindness, harmony and tranquility that we all desire. Beyond words, vibrant colors and earthy tones are the biosphere in which we grow.
So I have returned – late in my life – to my dream of sharing with others the discoveries I hold to be timeless, hoping to form from clay some tangible reminders of the ideals which have molded and will continue to mold humanity into a worthy guardian of this miracle of Life on earth.
Currently, I am active in multiple avenues at the Community Arts Center in Wallingford, PA.
Having studied at Millersville State College and Michigan State University, and having taught art in a number of environments, I continue to attempt to answer the very first question presented to me by my Zen influenced professor: “What is Art.” According to him, all answers come up short.
David Woods
David Woods is a mosaic artist and has his Master’s in art education at Arcadia University. He’s designed and installed mosaics with the Mural Arts Program all over the city of Philadelphia and surrounding areas, most prominently working on the Philadelphia Eagles yearly mural project. With the Community Arts Center he has worked on outreach projects with Chester Charter School for the Arts and the South Media Community Initiative, and installed mosaics throughout our children’s garden and studios with kids in the Children’s committee and summer spree programs. He also teaches adult and teen mosaic classes at the CAC.