SPRING FACULTY 2012

ACF: Art Center Faculty

Carl 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, becoming a full time visual artist with emphasis on photography and ceramics.

Traudi Bestler
Traudi trained at the Weavers Guild of Minnesota, the Weaving School and Sievers School of Fiber Arts. She has been a teacher of weaving, dyeing and fiber arts for 20 years In addition, she has been a workshop presenter at the annual Minnesota Weaving Federation and travels to schools around the country.

Robert Bowman
B.A., Studio Art, St Olaf College. Ceramics experience includes exhibitions and fairs, teaching classes for children and adults, and co-managing the ceramics studio at the Art Center. Bob is also the Art Center's Exhibits Director.

Donna Bruni
B.A., Creativity and Holistic Health, University of Minnesota. Donna is an expressionist painter who integrates drawing and painting within fluid patinas of color in landscape and figurative inspired imagery. An experienced instructor, she has taught Expressive Arts programs at Walker Art Center Art Lab, Pathways, and numerous other venues. Her work is widely exhibited, and included in public and private collections. www.donnabruniart.com

Jerry Calengor
B.S. University of Minnesota, Duluth. Jerry has worked as a gallery owner and studio painter for over forty years. His award-winning work has been exhibited throughout the Midwest, including a solo exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Jerry painted for a year in Barbizon, France, home of the impressionists. www.calengorstudio.com

Patty Carmody Smith
B.S. in Art from the University of Wisconsin at River Falls. She has shown her fiber and mixed media sculpture regionally since 1995. Patty has a passion for the creative process and the role it plays in living a creative life. She has developed a unique sculptural technique that utilizes lightweight air-drying materials.

Kim Christensen
Kim is a knitter and a spinner. She has taught classes at various yarn stores in Minneapolis, and she's looking forward to teaching plant dyeing at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and spinning and knitting at the Art Center. Kim traveled with the Prairie Home Companion Show Cruise this past summer as a guest knitting instructor.

Michele Combs
Michele trained in classical realism at the Minnesota River School of Fine Art, and has studied with nationally recognized artists throughout the United States. Michele prefers to paint from life as it is the best way to capture subtle beauty. She has been teaching since 2005.
http://www.michelecombs.com

John Currie
John is a graphic and concept designer with clients in the US and Europe. He has studied Fine Art at the University of Minnesota, the Minnetonka Center for the Arts, and privately with notable instructors. John has been a sculpture Studio Assistant at the Art Center. His work is shown widely in the United States and in private collections here and abroad.
http://www.fineart.currieworks.com

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

Suzanne Galloway
B.A., Studio Art and Art History, DePauw University with additional coursework from the University of Minnesota, and MCAD; she has also studied with Barbara Nechis, John Salminen, Cheng Khee Chee, and Stephen Quiller, Her watercolors and drawings have been exhibited in multiple local, regional and national juried competitions and she has won several awards for her work. She returns to the Art Center as an instructor with over 10 years of teaching experience.

Terry Genesen Becker
B.F.A., University of Minnesota. Genesen Becker’s 30 years of teaching experience includes the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, the Minnesota Museum of Art School and the Grand Marais Art Colony. She has been awarded signature status in the Transparent Watercolor Society of America, and Watercolor USA’s Watercolor Honor Society and has been featured in WATERCOLOR magazine. Her watercolors are regularly shown in national juried exhibitions and museum collections including the Minnesota Museum of American Art, Springfield Art Museum, and the Muskegon Museum of Art.
http://www.terrygenesenbecker.com

Britt Howe
Is an illustrator / sequential artist living in Plymouth, Minnesota. She received her B.F.A. in Sequential Art at The Savannah College of Art and Design, and thrives on illustrating comics and books involving animals, adventure and fantasy.

Heidi Hoy
B.A. Studio Arts, Hamline University. Heidi began taking sculpture classes at the Art Center in 1988, and taught from 1995-2002, and returned in 2008. 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.
http://www.heidihoy.com

Shannon Ingham
B.F.A. Corcoran College of Art & Design, Washington, D.C., with awards and scholarships in drawing and painting. Study of art in the museum culture of Washington, D.C. was a great influence on Shannon’s decision to work as a full-time artist. Current work is to develop an expression of the experience of prairie and lakes of Midwest region, influenced by his immersion into the landscape while working on wind turbine projects. Experienced teaching students from a wide range of cultural backgrounds.

Gigi Jabbour
BFA from Minneapolis College of Art and Design and an MFA from Savannah College of Art and Design.

She has been a student of yoga since the age of 16 and received her Yoga Alliance Certified Yoga Teacher accreditation from the Yoga Center of Minneapolis in 2005. She follows the teachings of John Friend, the founder of Anusara Yoga. Gigi is in the process of earning an advanced accreditation as an “Anusara Inspired Teacher”

Andy Juelich
B.A. in Studio Arts from St. John’s University. Andy apprenticed under, and now collaborates with, potter Richard Bresnahan. Andy’s large vases are coiled and thrown over several days, allowing for carving and atmospheric records from soda-firing. He teaches clay, sculpture, and book-arts for the Art Center.
http://www.andyjuelich.com

Georgia Kandiko
Has studied under such notable watercolor artists as Cheng-Khee Chee, John Salminen, and Steven Quiller. A popular and experienced instructor, Georgia has taught watercolor at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum as well as other local venues. She is an active exhibitor of her own work, and has attained Signature Status with the Minnesota Watercolor Society

Cynthia Kath B.A.,
Fine Art. Cynthia is currently working toward her Master of Liberal Studies at the University of Minnesota, in Fine Art, Architecture and Horticulture. She has also studied at Parsons in Paris, as well as privately with renowned oil and pastel artists. Cynthia has taught at numerous venues, and exhibits her work locally and internationally. www.cynthiakath.com

Gail Katz-James
M.F.A. in Textile Arts at the University of California-Davis. Gail is an artist who works primarily with found objects and hardware to construct wall sculptures. She has experience as an art juror, and is a representative for Minnesota to the Surface Design Association. Most recently her quilt-inspired wall piece was selected for permanent display at the Minneapolis Children’s Hospital.

Annie Kennedy
B.A. Bethel College, in Business. After exploring drawing, painting, and other art forms, Annie found her passion in rug hooking. She has been “hooking” since 2000, and frequently exhibits her rugs at Sauder Village. In addition to teaching, Annie has an online rug hooking business, AJ Creatives.

Susan Lyman
B.A. University of Minnesota, in Studio Art, Sociology and Anthropology. Susan has worked as an art director in major advertising agencies and has been involved in the Art Center for the past 15 years. Her work is primarily figurative and often life size. As a teacher she enjoys nurturing her students to develop their stone sculpting skills.

Charlotte Ruth Mason
B.F.A. Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Also, studied Theatre Arts at Children?fs Theatre in Minneapolis. Daughter of a painter and writer, Ruth studied performance art, graphic design and video production. She worked in film and television production for 15 years as producer, writer, camera and audio technician. She has created large scale public work for plays, performances and installations. She loves working with musicians, children and teens on projects large and small. Ruth is a big fan of public art making: murals, films, sculptures and spontaneous artworks.

Ernest L. Miller Jr.
B.A., in Three-Dimensional Studio Art, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL. A ceramicist and sculptor, Ernest 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.
http://www.ernestmiller.com

Jon Monson
AIA owner of Landschute, the Excelsior-based design/build firm, has worked in the architectural profession for over thirty years. He has helped revitalize the “master builder” approach to building by founding one of the area’s first, architect led, design/build firms in 1980. Since moving to the Lake area over twenty years ago, Mr. Monson has focused his attention on projects which have a specific connection to The Lake, including numerous historic renovations of both residential and commercial buildings. Mr. Monson has most recently undertaken the renovation of the 1892, T.B. Janney residence in Cottagewood.

Ria Neilson
B.A., St. Mary’s College/Notre Dame, South Bend, IN. Ria comes from a background of working in mixed media. She enjoys mosaics, photography, design, glass and metal. Ria works out of her glass studio in Orono, and does work on commission basis as well as nationally for small retail boutiques. She also exhibits in juried shows throughout the Twin Cities. www.glasstransitions.com

Judd Nelson
Judd has been creating welded and forged animal sculptures since he was 17, and completed his formal training in art at the University of Minnesota. He has taught at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts as well as in Native American and public schools around the country. Judd also worked in a number of capacities on “Hometime,” a National Public Television show. http://www.juddnelsonstudios.com

Carey Netherton
M.F.A. in Sculpture, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale; B.A. in 3-D Studio Art and Philosophy, Eastern Illinois University. Carey worked for over four years as a fine art foundry technician and supervisor at the Johnson Atelier Technical Institute of Sculpture in Mercerville, New Jersey. His award-winning work has been widely exhibited, and is a part of many private collections.
http://www.careynetherton.com

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. Lee is the ceramics Studio Manager for the Minnetonka Center for the Arts. She exhibits in shows and galleries in the Midwest. She has extensive experience in ceramics and design consulting, and has taught at the Art Center since the mid-1990’s

Jodi Reeb-Myers
B.F.A., Minneapolis College of Art & Design. Jodi has been creating art for over 25 years. As the recipient of numerous awards, her work has been widely exhibited, and may be found in many private and corporate collections both locally and nationally. An experienced and talented teacher, Jodi taught printmaking at MCAD for over nine years, and has also taught at the Minnetonka Center for the Arts, Edina Art Center, Duluth Art Institute and MCAD Studio kids. Jodi creates her mixed media paintings at her studio in the Traffic Zone Center for Visual Art in Minneapolis.

Frank Picos
Associate in Applied Science degree in Construction Technology, New York City Community College. Part-time artist, teaching assistant, sculpture studio assistant and student with focus on stone carving and bronze casting. Member of Society of Minnesota Sculptors.

Ellen Richman
B.F.A. University of Minnesota. Ellen’s award-winning paintings have been widely exhibited and published. Her work is found in collections in the United States and Mexico and is currently represented at Circa Gallery in Minneapolis, and Thomas Masters Gallery in Chicago.
http://www.ellenrichman.com

Karen Rognsvoog
Karen has been dyeing natural fibers and growing plants for dye since the mid-1970s. She has taught natural plant dyeing classes in schools and community centers in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area and at the North House Folk School in Grand Marais, Minnesota. Karen is always on the lookout for new and interesting dye stuffs, so don’t follow her closely on the road, since she “brakes for roadside weeds!”

Alan Shefland
Alan began his artist's journey at a young age shooting and developing photos of his neighborhood and residents and selling a few to cover costs. He honed his visual skills becoming a Film Editor in Hollywood working on commercials, television and features. He has an extensive list of credits including many on award winning shows. After moving to Minnesota he became a student of photography at the Art Center where he has had several of his works displayed.

Chris Singewald
B.F.A. with an emphasis in Studio Ceramics from the University of Northern Iowa in 2006, completed an apprenticeship with internationally recognized ceramic artist Chris Gustin in 2009, and received a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Artisanry from the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth in 2010. Currently, Instructor and Resident Artist/Materials and Glaze Technician at the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis.

Holly Stone
B.S. Wayne State University, Detroit, MI. Holly is an artist-educator who has taught oil painting, acrylics and watercolor locally since 1998. Her work is found in commercial and private collections. Holly has also worked in a number of capacities for a local theater troupe. She uses her occupational therapy background to assist people of all abilities to find expression in the arts.

Marcelo Valdes
AIA, has more than 20 years experience as a residential architect in the United States, Europe and Uruguay, his native land. He has a degree in architecture (University de la Republica, Uruguay), a post-graduate diploma in housing studies (HIS, Netherlands) and a master’s in architecture from the University of Minnesota. A registered architect in MN, he worked for ten years for SALA Architects before starting his own firm, M. Valdes Architects PLLC in St. Paul. His work has won several awards and has been published in books and magazines including Architecture MN, Pioneer Press, Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine, Family Handyman and the upcoming book “Breaking Ground” by Jeremiah Eck. Marcelo is an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Minnesota. His classes are centered on his passion to illustrate the value of residential design to a broad audience. www.mvaldesarc.com

Pamela Vazquez
Pamela has worked in the field of Architecture for over 20 years. She worked for a prominent local architecture firm as their Senior Designer from 1999-2009. She recently has taken on the challenge of starting her own business “The New Studio” in Woodland, Minnesota. Her professional passion extends to all aspects of residential design from the interior to the exterior. She has dedicated herself to learning her craft and has surrounded herself with mentors that have handed down their expertise within the profession. She has been highlighted in This Old House Magazine and has continued to seek out clients that are as passionate as she is about the field of residential design.

Michon Weeks
M.F.A., Painting & Drawing, University of Minnesota, B.A., Art & Design, Iowa State University. Michon is a versatile and talented instructor with experience teaching as an Adjunct instructor at the College of St. Benedict and Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall. She recently completed a series of 20 etched glass drawings in windows for the Marshall-Lyon County Library. Her logo design “Stingray” was also recently featured on pint glasses sold exclusively at the Walker Art Center Shop.

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. http://www.fosterwilley.com

Arlene Zimmerman
Arlene studied at the Minnetonka Center for the Arts from 1993-2002, and worked as a teaching assistant from 1995-2002. Her work has been exhibited at galleries and at the Museum of American Art. The uniqueness of being a woman permeates her work, and her sculptural figures celebrate ethnicity.

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