ACF: Art Center Faculty
2008

Kristen Arden
M.A. in Art History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, B.A. in Painting and Drawing from St. Olaf College, Sculpture and Metalwork studies at California College of Arts and Crafts. Began working in metal fabrication and casting at CCAC in1998. Was a teaching assistant at CCAC and taught TIG welding art classes at the Crucible in Berkeley. Since moving to Minneapolis in 2003 she has been working primarily with metal as a professional artist in her studio in the Northrup King Building in Minneapolis.

Craig Arndt
B.A., Visual Arts at North Dakota State University. He is the Sculpture Teacher at the Perpich Center for Arts in Education where his has taught in several art content areas, including painting, ceramics, media, and methods of printing. Currently, he is completing his Masters of Arts in Education at Augsburg College. A working artist who has sold his work privately, continues to exhibit, and participants in art festivals.

Christine Bailey
B.F.A., Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Studies include Environmental Design, Painting, Drawing, Illustration and Art Theory. Her experiences have arranged from clay tile work, wood cut prints and ceramic shell casting. She has experience in carpentry work including, but not limited too: new construction, concrete formwork and woodwork finishing.

Carl E. Beihl
A practicing artist and photographer from the age of 9, Carl is truly a product of the Art Center and its culture of artist development. Beginning in the early 1970s, he continued the artist's journey, first juggling Art Center classes with jobs in big business and consulting and for the last ten years, making time to become a full time visual artist with emphasis on photography and ceramics.

Traudi Bestler
Trained at the Weavers Guild of Minnesota, The Weaving School and Sievers School of Fiber Arts. A teacher of weaving, dyeing and fiber arts for 20 years. Has been a workshop presenter at the annual Minnesota Weaving Federation and travels to schools around the country.

Mia Bierer
B.F.A., Minnesota State University, Mankato in Fibers and Ceramics with a minor in Art History. She is a practicing fiber artist and graduate student living in Minneapolis. Mia has traveled abroad to Florence, Italy for her studies and served as an intern and volunteer for the Minnesota Textile Center and the Rochester Art Center. She exhibits her work locally.

Debbie Blum
B.S. in Education at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and her Masters of Education from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. She has taught art in a variety of capacities including; teaching oil painting to high school students in Ithaca, New York, ceramic and mixed-media arts to elementary students at Hill School in Wayzata, Minnesota, and students with special needs at the Learning School in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.

Margaret Bohls
M.F.A Ceramics, Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, LA. B.F.A Ceramics, Rhode Island School of Design Providence, RI. Margaret Bohls is a ceramic artist who lives and works in Minneapolis. She makes hand-built porcelain pottery which she exhibits both locally and nationally. She has been teaching Ceramics at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis for nine years. She has also recently taught ceramics briefly at both Ohio University and Penn State University and will be team-teaching this summer with Julia Galloway at NSCAD University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Robert Bowman
B.A., St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN. Exhibits at Northern Clay Center and many area shows and art fairs. Winner of prizes and commissions. Ceramics studio co-manager and exhibition coordinator for the Art Center.

Jerry Calengor
B.S., University of Minnesota, Duluth. Has exhibited and won awards throughout the Midwest. One man showing at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (small gallery) and exhibited at juried (Best of Minnesota) Walker Museum. Gallery owner, studio painter for over forty years with corporate commission and global art collectors. Studied with a variety of established painters through his career, lived in Barbizon France, home of the impressionists, for a year.

Eileen Cohen
M.F.A., Indiana University and B.F.A., University of Delaware. 2004 McKnight Residency. She has taught clay classes at Northern Clay and the Edina Art Center. She has shown both regionally and nationally.

Sara D. Commers
Executive Designer at C & L Gems in St. Louis Park. Certified Bench Jeweler (CBJ) certification from Jewelers of America; completed Advanced Stone Setting, Counter Sketching and Design and CAD/CAM Design for Jewelry from Gemological Institute of America (GIA); completed Masters Symposium workshops at Revere Academy.

Donna Bruni Cox
B.A., University of Minnesota. Donna is a mentor with Women’s Art Registry of Minnesota, a creativity consultant and educator as well as an artist. Award winner, frequent exhibitor, represented in private collections across the United States.

Carey Dean
is a self-taught mosaic artist who received her M.F.A. (International Practice) degree in painting and drawing in the United Kingdom in 2005. She is currently an art and design instructor at the University of Wisconsin Stout and a Continuing Studies Professor at Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Her work has been shown internationally.

Clara M. Emma
B.F.A., University of Minnesota, B.A. Carroll College. Ceramicist, painter and educator. Has exhibited in many juried and invitational crafts and ceramics shows in the Midwest, plus galleries. Commissions in private collections.

Risë Ferster
B.A., Empire State College, M.F.A., SUNY College at New Paltz, and the Maine Photographic Workshops. An Artist-in-Residence in the Minneapolis Public Schools and recipient of a Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship.

Reid Galey
B.A., University of New Mexico. Teaches workshops around the country. Represented in galleries in Minneapolis, Tucson, San Antonio and Saugatuck, MI. Known for his “plein air” landscape painting. His work hangs in private and corporate collections around the country.

Terry Genesen-Becker
B.F.A., University of Minnesota. Terry has specialized in watercolor for more than 30 years. Her 25 years of teaching experience include the Minnesota Museum of Art School, Grand Marais Art Colony, the University of Minnesota's Compleat Scholar, Minneapolis Community College and Minnetonka Center for the Arts. As a nationally exhibited watercolorist she has been awarded signature status in the Transparent Watercolor Society of America and the Red River Watercolor Society. Terry’s work was recently included in the National Biennial Invitational “WATERCOLOR 07, State of the Art” at Parkland Art Gallery, Champaign, IL. In fall 2007, her work and process were featured in WATERCOLOR magazine. Her watercolors are regularly shown in national exhibitions and are included in numerous private, public and museum collections. www.terrygenesenbecker.com

Lindsay Gerardy
B. A. in Printmaking with a minor in Art History from Minnesota State University, Mankato and her M.A. in Arts and Cultural Management from Saint Mary’s University, Minneapolis. She is a practicing artist whose work focuses on printmaking, collage, installation and mixed-media art. Lindsay exhibits her work around the state.

Jeffrey Goetz
has been the Director of the Arkansas Institute for Building Preservation Trades, a Vice
President of the American College of the Building Arts in Charleston, the Technical Director for Inspired Partnerships in Chicago and taught at the Building Preservation Technology program at Belmont Technical College. While at the college he administered an Army Legacy Grant for window restoration projects at West Point and Fort Drum and participated in an exterior restoration project at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. He studied Italian stained glass techniques at the Vetrate Artistiche Toscane, in Siena, Italy and has been twice honored in the juried state-wide competition by the Palmetto Hands Artisans Exhibition in Charleston, SC.

George P. Hagemann
B.A., University of Minnesota. His work is primarily in bronze, stone, steel, and fused glass; explorations of contrast, proportion and scale. Many pieces are designed for exterior installation.

Don Hammer
Art Degree from the University of Wisconsin, River Falls. He also has 20 years of experience shaping metals. Teaches Blacksmithing with the Guild of Metalsmiths as well as coordinating their outreach program.

Teresa Henn
B.A., University of Wisconsin-Stout in Clothing, Textiles and design. She has had numerous designs for hooking rugs and other crafts published in books and magazines.

Heidi Hoy
B.A. Studio Arts, Hamline University. Began taking sculpture classes at the Art Center in 1988, and taught from 1995-2002. She has exhibited her work in galleries and museums nationally and has created many public works. Her work reflects her love of the female form in dramatic poses.

Mechelle Iglesias
University of Minnesota and North Hennepin Community College. Graphic designer. Experienced in various art mediums including glassblowing and hot glass techniques.

Peter Jadoonath
B.F.A. in Painting and Ceramics from Bemidji State University. He has taught ceramics at Bemidji State University’s Northwest Juvenile Training Center and Fired-Up Studios in Minneapolis. His clay experience also includes work at Custom Ceramics and North Prairie Tile. He is currently co-owner of Toppot Clay Studio in St. Paul.

Tara Jones
B.F.A., Minnesota State University, Mankato and is an M.B.A. candidate for Capella University. Her specializations are in photography, painting, sculpture, ceramics, mixed-media, and interior design. She has experience working for Ethan Allen Design Studio, Gabbert’s Furniture and Design Studio, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

Bethany Kalk
M.F.A., Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Bethany is a painter and graphic designer. She was awarded a 2006 Minnesota Center for Book Arts/Jerome Foundation Book Arts Mentorship and a 2007. Minnesota State Arts Board grant. Bethany teaches online and on-campus courses in design and fine arts at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Her work has been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions locally as well as in San Francisco and New York.

Gail Katz-James
is an artist who works primarily with found objects and hardware to construct wall sculptures. She earned an M.F.A. in Textile Arts at UC Davis in 1996. Her emphasis at that time was weaving and dyeing. She shows her work locally and nationally. You may recall her collaborative artwork “49 Squares” on the Art Center Art Wall, Summer 2005.

Christopher Kelly
Studio Artist; Owner FK Art Glass; Teaching Assistant / Studio Tech ARCC Glass Department 1996-1999; Nationally Juried Artist 1999- 2002; Commission Work 2003- Present. Teaches Classes in Glass Blowing, Fusing, and Equipment Design & Building.

Katie Landeck
B.S. Art Education at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Currently she has been working with various Outreach Programs through the Minnetonka Center for the Arts. She is also a swim coach for a local swim club.

Bonnie Lauber-Westover
M.A., Illinois State University, B.A., University of Iowa. Artist and educator. Teaches at Minneapolis College of Art and Design as well as the Art Center; extensive background teaching in high schools, middle schools, colleges and art centers. Exhibits and has won awards throughout the Midwest.

Ernest L. Miller, Jr.
B.A. in Three-Dimensional Studio Art, Eastern Illinois University, Carleston, IL. A ceramicist and sculptor, he has extensive experience teaching adults and children in Minnesota and Illinois. An exhibitor and award winner in many juried shows, his work is widely collected.

Jennifer Miller
M.F.A., University of Iowa Ceramics/Sculpture. M.A., University of Iowa Ceramics/Sculpture. Certification, University of Iowa, K-12 Art Education. B.A., St. Olaf College Painting/Installation. Some of her Grants and Awards include: 2005 Jerome Research and Development Grant, FORECAST Public Artworks; 2000 Third Place Award, National Ceramics Competition (Juror: Wayne Higby); 2000 Fine Arts Council Grant, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa. She has a studio in the Northrup King Building and she is the Exhibits Manager for the Northern Clay Center.

Holly Nelson
B.F.A., University of Minnesota, J.D., Syracuse University College of Law, University of Ife, Nigeria. Exhibitor, award winner and juror in juried shows, illustrator. Participant in W.A.R.M. (Women’s Art Registry of Minnesota) Mentor program. Studied African art in Nigeria.

Hallie O’Connor
Received her B.F.A. from the University of Minnesota with a focus in sculpture. Hallie is from Excelsior, attended Minnetonka High School, and has been teaching art to kids in the Minnetonka area for the last 6 years. She spent the month of May studying art abroad in Argentina. Hallie plans to attend graduate school in the fall.

Dorothy Odland
M.F.A. and B.F.A., University of Minnesota. Exhibitor, award winner and show juror. Gallery lecturer for 22 years at Walker Art Center. Founding member and mentor with W.A.R.M. (Women’s Art Registry of Minnesota). Her work is in many corporate and private ­collections.

Lee Persell
University of Minnesota. Co-manager of Minnetonka Center for the Arts ceramics studio. Exhibits in shows and galleries in the Midwest. Extensive experience in ceramics and design consulting.

Frank Picos
Associate in Applied Science degree in Construction Technology, New York City Community College. Part-time artist, teaching assistant and student with focus on stone carving and bronze casting. Has taught kids stone carving at Minnetonka Center for the Arts Summer Arts Camp. Member Society of Minnesota Sculptors.

Larry Renolds
Well known for his bird carvings and a long-time teacher at the Art Center.

Ellen Richman
B.F.A. University of Minnesota. Has exhibited extensively and had work in Art in America and other publications. Her work is represented in collections in the U.S. and Mexico. Winner of several awards. Has also held positions in several museums, photography and design organizations.

Colleen Riley
B.A. in Journalism, Drake University, Des Moines, IA. Primarily a self-taught potter, she began her ceramics studies at the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, and has worked with numerous potters in the region. She teaches adults and teens at the Northfield Arts Guild, and exhibits her soda-fired porcelain at galleries and art fairs throughout the region.

Patricia Salek
Masters in Human Development, St. Mary’s University; M.F.A./M.A., University of Iowa; B.A. University of California, Santa Cruz. Educator in colleges and art centers, teaching art and expressive arts sessions which facilitate development of creativity and communication with deeper levels of the self.

Tamber Sherman
B. A. and Social Science degrees from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa. She has been a children’s art instructor for eight years and specializes in all art media.

Kevin Showell
B.A. Crown College. Five-year apprenticeship and eight years of journeyman work under Master Carver Chrisostimos Effremethis. He is a professional woodcarver and his work includes large scale sculpture, architectural carving, antique repair and replication carving, both public and private.

Lori Kiira Simone
is a primitive artist who explores color, texture, lighting and illusionary impression via a battery of media. Her recent works have focused on monotype printmaking, cartooning and watercolors. Her works have been displayed in recent exhibitions/shows including the Scott Garver Glassblowing Studio, the Bloomington Art Center (2006, 2007 Juried Members’ Show), and the Members Show at the Minnetonka Center for the Arts (2007). Influences include Georgia O’Keeffe, Salvador Dali and Gerhard Richter.

Alan Slater
Received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Minnesota. He has studied with Katherine Nash and Richard Randall. He is a member of the Society of Minnesota Sculptures, and a board member of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts Print and Drawing Curatorial Council.

Jean Marie Stortz
B.S. in design field, from University of Minnesota. Community Art Educator of adults and young people through open studios, workshops, home school classes, special needs youth, after-school and summer camp classes. She has extensive experience in design and fabric printing and brings together her painting, fiber arts, photography and jewelry making into mixed media creations. Her paintings and fabric collages include commissioned work. She has exhibited at many shows and art fairs. Founding member of Gallery Maple Plain.

Melodee Strong
B.F.A., Minneapolis College of Art and Design in Illustration. She works as a freelance illustrator painting for editorial projects as well as children's literature. She has illustrated six published children's books and is finishing up illustrations for three new titles scheduled for release this fall. She is completing her Master of Fine Arts in Illustration from Hartford University through a Limited Residency Program. She actively exhibits her work in galleries and gives educational presentations to schools and organizations. Her illustrations have received many awards from the Society of Illustrators Los Angeles and Society of Illustrators New York.

Foster Willey Jr.
B.F.A., Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI, the Naguib School of Sculpture. Earns commissions and exhibits works in stone, bronze, concrete, wood and steel.

Pat Zilverberg
Graduated from the University of Minnesota with an art degree in 1974. Taught 3 years of high school art. Previously taught drawing and watercolor painting at the Edina art center. Showed works at various art shows and businesses in the Twin Cities area.

Arlene Zimmerman
has a varied background in education including Intermedia Arts Artist in the Schools Program; Action Research Hamline University (Artist in the Schools facilitated program) and Normandale Art History and Photography. Some of her awards include: Photography Calendar Award; the Barbara Lund Scholarship and the Minnesota Music Academy Award/ Design for Music Award. Stone is her favorite medium, and she enjoys serving students and encouraging them in sculpture.

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