Faculty

Ben Ahlvers

Ben teaches Intro to Ceramics, Tilemaking and Dinnerware at the Lawrence Arts Center. He has a BFA from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and an MFA from Ohio University. His work is exhibited as numerous galleries and museums in the U.S., London, Spain and China. Ben says "I use clay because of its ability to show evidence of the makers hand and mimic other materials. The work I make is primarily figurative. I am essentially asking questions of myself and I believe the work reflects this process."
Email: ben@lawrenceartscenter.org

Deena Amont

Deena Amont is a high school art teacher at Lawrence High School , where she teaches ceramics, jewelry, digital imaging, and other subjects. She received her Masters of Art Education and certification in Visual Art Education from the University of Kansas with a concentration in Ceramics. She also has a Bachelor of Science degree in Plant Science from Rutgers University . She is certified to teach grades K-12, and has taught many classes at the Lawrence Arts Center for both children and adults. When she's not making art or teaching, she enjoys gardening and keeping bees.

Marlo Angell

Marlo has a B.A. in Film/Video Production from University of Southern California's School of Cinema-Television. Her short film, Cigar By Car, was screened in film festivals across the country including the AFI Los Angeles Film Festival. Her feature screenplay, A Night in Armor, was a top 10 finalist in the Nevada Sreenwriting Competition and she wrote and directed the feature film, Waiting For The Son, starring Brian Aldiss and Lupe Ontiveros. Most recently, Marlo produced and edited, Mariachi Estrella, a short documentary about one of the country's first all female mariachi bands. She is currently in pre-production on "From Football to Futbol," a documentary on the evolution of soccer in western Kansas, made possible by a grant from the Kansas Humanities Council. Past teaching experience includes film production instruction at the New York Film Academy's Los Angeles office.

Carla Asepnberg, 2011-2012 Printmaking Artist in Residence

Carla Aspenberg, printmaker and sculptor, was born in 1980 in New York City. She received an MFA in Sculpture from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York in 2006 and a BA in Studio Art from Bard College in 2002. Her prints have been included in exhibitions such as "New Prints 2011 / Winter" at the International Print Center New York and "Borderline" at Rush Arts Gallery. She has completed residencies at Pilchuck Glass School, Wilson College, and the Vermont Studio Center.

Jeanne Averill

Jeanne Averill has been teaching and directing for over 25 years. Jeanne was the 2000 recipient of the American Alliance for Theatre in Education John C. Barner Teacher of the Year Award. Nationally recognized as the innovative creator of the outstanding Experimental and Issue Theatre Program at Lawrence High School, Jeanne's program has featured residencies of some of the top playwrights in the field of theatre for youth, including Laurie Brooks, Sandy Asher, Ric Averill and Max Bush.

In addition to her work as a teacher, Jeanne is a professional actress performing in film, commercials and on stage. Jeanne teaches Acting for the Camera, Audition Workshops, and Improvisation and Issue theatre for the Drama Program.

Ric Averill

(Drama Program Director, Boys' Dance Theatre) Artistic director and principal playwright, composer and director for the Lawrence Arts Center's Seem-To-Be Players professional children's theatre company since he and his wife, Jeanne, founded the company in 1973. Ric started taking ballet lessons in 2003.

Lauretta Hendricks Backus

Lauretta Hendricks Backus lives in the country outside of Lawrence, Kansas. She taught art in the Lawrence School District for 15+ years. She spends her free time now creating and painting in her studio. She continues to participates in a variety of Lawrence area art events on a regular basis. She is excited about returning to the Lawrence Arts Center and looking forward to spending time with students again.

Candi Baker

(Dance Program Director) Candi holds a M.A. in Dance from Mills College. She has over 40 years of teaching, performing, choreographing experience. She was founder and artistic director of Prairie Wind Dancers (1987-2004) and originated the Pistachio, Popcorn, Pretzel and Peanut Cos. Candi was also the recipient of a 1998 Lawrence Phoenix Award. One of the LAC studios is named for her in recognition for her contributions to dance in Lawrence and the surrounding region.

Jason Barr

Jason Barr has a BFA in Printmaking from the University of Kansas . He is co-owner of the Wonder Fair art gallery in downtown Lawrence . He is also the co-founder of Asteroid Head Art Club. In his free time he also manages to produce the A.D.D. arts podcast on iTunes covering art & culture in KS! “I hope to give something back through the arts, while loving the people around me!” Jason currently teaches drawing, painting & social media courses at the Lawrence Arts Center.

Blue Barrand and Christie Curtis

This delightful father/daughter team has been teaching ballroom together for many years. They have also both danced competitively and received several awards in ballroom dance throughout the years. Blue and Christie teach ballroom, swing & salsa, and Latin rhythms at the Arts Center. (Ballroom).

Deborah Bettinger

Deborah began teaching ballet at the Arts Center in 1991, and has since helped develop the dance program into what it is today. She has extensive classical ballet training, teaching experience and professional performance/choreography experience. She is the former director of the Lawrence School of Ballet and Lawrence Ballet Ensemble and former member of Prairie Wind Dancers and Kaw Valley Dance Co. She currently directs the Lawrence Youth Ballet Company, and is artistic director and choreographer for A Kansas Nutcracker and Snow Queen. Deborah is the Ballet Program Coordinator and teaches Ballet and Stretch and Tone. (Ballet).

Mollie Blackburn

Mollie Blackburn is an artist who works primarily in the realm of metalsmithing and jewelry design. She received her BFA from Texas State University and her MFA from the University of Kansas. Discovering the art of metalsmithing has provided this storyteller with a passion for malleability, melting points, intimate scale and endless possibilities. She says, “Stemming from the culmination of my twenty-seven years of life experience, I employ self-specific imagery referencing family, home and partnership in an effort to convey the very essence of my ‘tiny human heart.’
http://molliekathleenb.blogspot.com/

Ashley Boyack

Ashley Boyack received her BFA in Modern Dance from the University of Utah and her Masters degree in Education from the University of Northern Colorado. Ashley brings to us her extensive background with the Tanner Dance Program where she was a dance specialist for the State of Utah’s outstanding Arts in Education programming, the Virginia Tanner Dance Program, and the Children’s Dance Theatre. Ashley performed with the University of Utah Children’s Dance Theater for over 30 years and their Performing Dance Company for three years. Ashley teaches preschool dance, youth dance theater, adult modern dance, and is the preschool dance specialist for the Lawrence Arts Center’s Smart Moves project funded by the Kansas Health Foundation. (Preschool Dance, Youth Dance Theatre, Adult Modern Dance).

Miriam Cain

Miriam Cain began working at the Lawrence Arts Center Preschool as a parent volunteer when her children were in the preschool. Miriam has a degree in Music Education from KU, with an emphasis in both vocal and instrumental music for grades K-12. She completed additional coursework in Early Childhood Education with emphasis on the exceptional child.

Nathan Cardiff

Nathan teaches the Youth Digital Filmmaking class. He is a graduate from the University of Kansas, with a Bachelor of General Studies degree in Film and English. Nathan's previous experiences range from writing and reporting local news for Fort Hays State University's KFHS TV, writing short fiction, scripts, and short films at KU, and acting in Spencer Lott's The House of Atreus, which was performed in April 2010 at the Lawrence Arts Center. He was born and raised in De Soto, KS.

Naomi Carson

Naomi is trained and experienced in a wide variety of dance styles including jazz, tap, ballet, modern, African and Baroque. She has danced in numerous companies including the Prairie Wind Dancers and the University Dance Company at KU. Naomi is also a qualified instructor with over ten years of experience. At the Arts Center, her emphasis is in tap and hip hop dance. (Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop).

Janet Charleston (Guest Artist)

Janet Charleston is an established professional dancer, having danced in most of the major theaters in New York City, including Lincoln Center and the Joyce Theatre. Ms. Charleston has toured the world, dancing in Europe, Japan, Australia, and South America. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Dance from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and has been a dance teacher and mentor for many years. Her foundation training was in Cunningham technique, but she has received training in dance therapy, Alexander technique, ballet, semantics and other movement approaches. Ms. Charleston will teach a master class for the Lawrence Arts Center during her residency at the University of Kansas this spring; please check our website and eblasts for announcement of upcoming dates and times. (Modern Dance)

Allen Chen, 2011-2012 Ceramics Artist in Residence

Allen Chen was born in 1979 in Taiwan and immigrated to California in 1991. He received his BFA in Spatial Arts from San Jose State University in 2005 and MFA in Studio Arts from the University of Notre Dame in 2009. Allen has since completed an artist residency at Mendocino Art Center in California and a long term artist in residence program at the Red Lodge Clay Center in Montana.

Jessica Conner

Jessica Conner has been working at the Lawrence Arts Center in some capacity since 2006 when she was the ceramics artist in residence for 2006-2007. Prior to that, she attended Bethany College in Lindsborg, KS and received a BA in ceramics followed by attending Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas where she received her MFA in ceramics. Jessica truly enjoys interacting with the public as a teacher at the Arts Center and imparting her knowledge of ceramics on her students. She hopes to continue being a world traveler/learner while keeping her heart in North Lawrence.
Email: jessicaconner@lawrenceartscenter.org

Paige Comparato

Paige Comparato started her ballet training at the age of nine in Topeka, KS at Barbara’s Conservatory of Dance and danced with Ballet Midwest. She has performed several principal roles including Clara, Snow Queen and Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Peasant Pas de Deux in Giselle and Lise in La Fille Mal Gardee. Paige continued her ballet training at Texas Christian University in Forth Worth, TX for two years before returning to Kansas University to pursue a degree in Art History.

Paige taught at Barbara’s Conservatory of Dance and Copeland’s Gymnastics before joining the Arts Center staff. Her emphasis is in ballet, but she has also taught in the Arts Based Preschool and in visual art classes at the Arts Center. Currently, Paige teaches youth beginning and advanced ballet, ballet for teens, beginning pointe, and youth dance theater. Paige is also the former Dance Program Coordinator for the Lawrence Arts Center Dance Program. (Ballet).

Louis Copt

Artist Louis Copt was born and reared in Emporia, Kansas, USA.  He graduated from Emporia State University in 1971 with a degree in art.

Copt began his career as a full time artist in 1985 after returning from a summer of study at the Art Students League in New York City.  The focus for Copt’s art includes photography, portrait, figurative and landscape painting. Louis has taught at the Lawrence Arts Center for over 12 years and has led travel and painting workshops to France, Spain and Italy.  He has also taught classes at the University of Kansas. His work has been featured in two recent exhibits at the Albrecht-Kemper Museum in St. Joseph, Missouri and the Sabatini Gallery in Topeka, Kansas.  His work has been published in American Artist Magazine and numerous scholarly publications including The Great Plains Quarterly.

Copt has also exhibited work in national competitions such as the National Oil Painters and Kansas Watercolor Societies.  His work is in several museum, corporate and private collections throughout the United States.  

Louis’s work can be found at;
www.louiscopt.com
www.leopoldgallery.com
www.strecker-nelsongallery.com

Phyllis Copt

Phyllis Copt was born and raised in Emporia, Kansas. She began her undergraduate career in English literature at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas in 1968 and finished at Emporia State University in 1972. Copt taught English literature, composition, and creative writing in the Lawrence public schools. In the summer of 1984 she studied creative writing at New York University. She completed an M.S.E. at the University of Kansas in 1993. In the summer of 2008, she studied with Natalie Goldberg in Taos, New Mexico.

Since retiring Phyllis has started a daily photo blog which is based on a challenge to find a subject to photograph around her house and neighborhood. The photos are accompanied with short descriptions which she often uses as writing prompts.
www.twoeyeworkshop.wordpress.com

Cynthia Crews

Cynthia Crews started her dance training in Tulsa, Ok with Roman Jasinski and Moscelyn Larkin acclaimed Ballet Russe stars and co-founders of Tulsa Ballet Theatre. In high school she performed solo roles with Tulsa Civic Ballet, including being Tulsa’s very first Clara in the Nutcracker. Cynthia continued her dance education in New York City as a full scholarship student for Joffery Ballet and Harkness Ballet. She then returned to Oklahoma and received a BFA in Ballet Pedagogy from The University of Oklahoma.

Cynthia performed as a principal with Tulsa Ballet Theatre for nine years. She danced leading rolls in Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco, Ruth Page’s Die FlederMaus, Peter Anastos’ Footage, Loyce Holton’s Wingborne, as well as Giselle, Coppelia, Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. She also taught master classes, performing as a guest artist and presenting numerous school lecture demonstrations each year. Cynthia has performed and choreographed in many community and professional musical productions including Discoveryland Outdoor Dramas, Theatre Tulsa, and the Manatee Players (Fl).

Her teaching career started at The School of Tampa Ballet and continued at the Post School of Ballet (Southwest Virginia Ballet Company) and Jasinski Academy, the official school for Tulsa Ballet. Cynthia joined the Lawrence Arts Center in 2004, teaching primarily ballet and pointe. She is founder and artistic director of the Lawrence Ballet Theatre. (Ballet, Lawrence Ballet Theatre).

Christa Dalien

As an artist, Christa works in a variety of different mediums including installation, drawing, painting, and printmaking. Originally from St. Cloud, Minnesota, she received her BFA in painting from St. Cloud State University in 2003. Christa moved to Lawrence, Kansas to pursue a MFA in printmaking, which she received in 2007. Christa has had her work shown locally and nationally including the Soo Vac Gallery (Minneapolis), All Rise Gallery (Chicago), and Paragraph Gallery in Kansas City. In 2009 Christa was awarded a 1-year studio residency through the Urban Culture Project in Kansas City. In 2010 she was awarded an Avenue of the Arts Grant in Kansas City that is being held for grant funding in 2011. As an educator, Christ also teaches workshops at the Nelson Atkins Museum of art in Kansas City, Mattie Rhodes, and adjunct at Washburn University.

Ann Dean

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, I have been interested in the art of photography since the age of 15. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in English at the University of Kansas, I went on to pursue a graduate certificate from the New York Institute of Photography and have studied under several different photographers in the Lawrence area. I have been teaching photography at the Lawrence Arts Center now for 3 years and also work as a freelance photographer.

Although I have done wedding, corporate and portrait work, my passion is travel photography. It is important for me to visit new places and experience different cultures around the world, and to promote education and understanding between people through my photographs.

I love photography because it gives me a chance to savor the fleeting moments in time that we all take for granted and that give our lives meaning.
http://anndean.zenfolio.com

Christie Dobson

Associate Artistic Director, City Youth Theatre, contract film and drama teacher. Christie Dobson is a registered drama therapist and theatre artist who transplanted (back to) her college town, Lawrence, having started her career in Seattle, Washington, circa 1992. Christie worked in Seattle’s nonprofit sector for Seattle Opera, Open Circle Theatre and Seattle Children’s Theatre as well as homeless shelters and domestic violence programs as an artist, administrator and advocate, most closely aligning with organizations providing arts outreach to the community. Back in the Midwest, having attained her Master’s degree in drama therapy at Kansas State University, she has continued to shape her professional work around the use of expressive arts, especially theatre and film, for healing and social awareness with youth. Christie has acted when possible while raising 3 little boys, in Lawrence, Topeka and in Kansas City, and appeared in the local feature film, Earthwork. Christie sings as often as possible for special projects and occasions, recently with the Topeka Symphony with friends at Americana Music Academy.

Eric Dobbins

Founder & Co-Director of Lawrence's little gem Wonder Fair: Art Gallery, Shoppe & Studio, Eric Dobbins has been an inspired contributor to the local art scene for many years. He graduated with a degree in Visual Communication and Illustration from KU in 2006, and is currently a member of both the The Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission and the Downtown Lawrence Arts District Board of Directors. Eric's art practice is primarily grounded in printmaking and the making of art in multiples or series'. Outside of making works on paper, and doing freelance illustration, Eric has published his own comic strip collections, printed one-of-a-kind T-shirts, assembled kitschy do-it-yourself gardening kits, and made toy bugs for his friends. Most of them think they are the best toy bug they've ever seen.

Hope Theodoras Ely (Guest Artist)

Hope is a former soloist and ballet mistress with Tulsa Ballet Theatre. Since 1976, she has been one of Tulsa's most prominent ballet teachers and choreographers. She has taught at the Tulsa School of Ballet, Tulsa Ballet Theatre and The Harwelden Arts Institiute. She was artistic director of a Tulsa Youth Ballet Company. She currently teaches at The Dance and Performing Arts Academy and at Oral Roberts University. She has restaged works by the late Roman Jaskinski for ballet companies in New York, Ohio, Louisiana, Oklahoma. (Ballet).

Joel J. Feigenbaum

Joel J. Feigenbaum is an award winning film maker. He has written, produced and directed over three hundred hours of television including Dallas, Knots Landing, Paradise, Bodies of Evidence, Burke’s Law, Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, Touched By An Angel, Charmed, and 7TH Heaven.

Mr. Feigenbaum is a graduate of the University of Michigan. He earned his masters degree at the University of Kansas. Currently, he is in development on the feature film, BEDLAM. A comprehensive list of Feigenbaum’s professional credits is available on IMDB.COM: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0270570/

Jeremy Finney (Guest Artist)

Jeremy is the lead choreographer for the professional performance group TigerStyle!. He has performed on America’s Best Dance Crew - the Live Tour, MTV, and with many major recording artists. He has been featured in national commercials and has received multiple scholarships. He is an accomplished Bboy and Freestyle HipHop dancer, having won several competitions nationwide. He is familiar with many forms of dance and incorporates these styles into his choreography. He focuses on telling a story, moving inside the music, and presenting a character with a sense of musicality, creative movement, and technical attention to detail that makes his choreography stand apart. His lyrical approach to hip hop choreography has earned it the nickname Jwrecks. (Hip Hop).

Herb Friedson

Herb Friedson was born in Cleveland, Ohio and received a BFA in Sculpture from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1958 and an MFA in Design from the University of Kansas in 1967. Herb also performed enameling research in Vienna, Austria 1959. At the University of Kansas, Herb has taught jewelry/silversmithing, basic design and enameling throughout 1967 – 1974. He also was a textile design consultant, New York City throughout 1960 – 1964.

Herb’s work has been displayed in more than 150 regional, national and international exhibitions including those at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York; Cleveland Museum of Art, Long Beach Museum of Art and the Biennale Internationale in Limoge, France.

Jennifer Glenn

Jennifer Glenn has over 30 years of theater and directing experience. She was a long-time member of the children’s theater touring company The Seem-To-Be Players as well as their principal costumer. She also designed and created the costumes for many LAC productions such as Kansas Nutcracker, The Snow Queen, Oliver, and Music Man. Jennifer teaches fiber classes, youth drama classes, and is the creator and director of the First Saturday Players performance group at the LAC. She also directs Summer Youth Theatre productions, and is the theater director at Central Middle School . She has a degree in Theater from Southern Methodist University in Dallas and is the recipient of the 2003 Phoenix Award in Performing Arts.

Molly Gordon

Molly Gordon began her dance training at Barbara’s Conservatory of Dance in Topeka, studying ballet, pointe, tap & jazz. She continued her dance education with Ballet Midwest, and in Lost Angeles at The Edge Dance Studio and the Dance & Creativity Center. Molly toured and danced professionally for Disneyland, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Harrah’s S. Lake Tahoe, and the Royal Caribbean & Celebrity Cruise Lines. Molly is also a certified Bikram Yoga Instructor.

Molly has taught at the Lawrence Art Center since 1998, teaching kinder ballet, youth & adult jazz & hip-hop, tap, diverse dance, yoga, creative youth workshops, Boys & Girls Club classes, & occasional woman’s work outreach. She was the co-founder of boys dance theatre and co-director of numerous performances by the Peanut, Pretzel, Popcorn and Pistachio Youth Performance Company. She was also the original artistic director of the Jazz Performance Ensemble, and has choreographed many LAC musicals such as Rent, Oliver, and Hair. Currently she is teaching Bikram Yoga full time and occasionally teaches dance master classes or workshops for us. (Special Workshops).

Ellie Goudie-Averill (Guest Artist)

Ms. Goudie-Averill grew up in Kansas, received her BA in dance from KU, and her MFA in dance from the U of Iowa. While in Lawrence, she was a dancer for the Prairie Wind Dancers and a founder of the Bowery Dance Company. She has been living and working in New York and Philadelphia for most of the last four years. She is a dancer for Group Motion and founder of Stone Depot Dance Lab. Her choreography has been selected for performance in numerous regional events. She has been a key choreographer in the project. (Modern Dance, Ballet).

Brandi Green

Brandi received her BA in dance of the University of Kansas. She was a founding member of the Bowery Dance Company. Brandi has been teaching all styles of dance for many years. Currently she teaches for a studio in Olathe, Kansas, and at the Lawrence Arts Center. She is the new artistic director for the Lawrence Jazz Ensemble. This ensemble is designed to give our advanced dancers new performance opportunities. (Jazz, Lawrence Jazz Ensemble).

Melissa Hale (Guest Artist)

Melissa was a principle dancer with the Cincinnati and Tulsa Ballet Companies. She and is the director of the ballet program at Sullivan Dance Centre, on the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, teaches company classes for North Carolina Dance Theatre and is the choreographer for the Charlotte Philharmonic Orchestra. Ms. Hale has also been a guest choreographer for numerous companies, large and small. The North Carolina School of the Arts awarded Ms. Hale the "Best Dance Teacher of North Carolina". (Ballet).

Lori Hanson

Lori Hanson attended both the University of Central Missouri and the University of Kansas in order to attain a BFA with an emphasis in painting. After having taught a variety of children's classes at the Arts Center over the past three years, Lori has returned to KU and is currently working on a master's degree in visual art education. Her media of specialty includes acrylic, oil, and watercolor paints. Lori was initially trained to draw and paint realistic portraiture with a disciplinary focus on proportions and classical drawing techniques. Her work has evolved into a realm of improvisational abstraction, as she works alongside various local and traveling musicians who invite her to paint on stage for live, visual elements that correlate with the music. Lori dedicates her time to share both old and newly found drawing and painting techniques will her students.

 

Elizabeth Hatchett

Elizabeth has her BFA from the University of Texas in Austin, her Masters of Art Education with honors from the University of Kansas. She taught Art for the Lawrence School district for seventeen years, taught undergraduate courses at KU, taught in the Perry and Alma school districts. Elizabeth appreciates the power of art and is an artist working in various media. She loves nature and animals and likes sharing her appreciation and knowledge of art with children and adults.

 

Allison Haworth

Allison Haworth began working at the Lawrence Arts Center Preschool as a parent volunteer when her children were in the preschool. Allison has a degree in Elementary Education from KU and taught first grade in the Lawrence Public Schools for 11 years.

Megan Hay

Megan Hay has a degree in Early Childhood Education and graduate hours in Early Childhood Special Education from the University of Kansas. She has experience teaching in Lawrence and Kansas City, Missouri. Three of her four children attended preschool at the Lawrence Arts Center.

Jerel Hilding

Jerel Hilding is the Associate Chair and Professor of dance at the University of Kansas. He teaches all levels of ballet, pointe, pas de deux and music for dancers. In addition to choreographing and assisting with the direction of the University Dance Company, Hilding has collaborated with the Kansas University Symphony Orchestra, the KU Opera and KU's Department of Theatre & Film on musicals, opera and dance concerts. Before coming to KU, Hilding was a principal dancer with the Joffrey Ballet for 15 years where he performed in works by many of the 20th century's most influential choreographers, including Balanchine, Arpino, Robbins, Ashton, Cranko, Jooss, Massine, and Tharp. After leaving the Joffrey Ballet, he was the director of the New Jersey Ballet's Artist-in-Education program and worked as an instructor for New York's City Center Theatre Outreach Program. He has taught throughout the country including New York, New Jersey, Arizona, Louisiana, Texas, and throughout the Midwest. (Ballet).

Krystyna Jurkowski Hilding (Guest Artist)

Krystyna was a principal dancer with the Joffrey Ballet for 12 years, dancing featured roles in works by Gerald Arpino, Ruthanna Boris, and Sir Frederic Ashton. She performed as a guest artist with Edward Villella's touring company and as a leading dancer with the New Jersey Ballet. As a performer, she toured nationally and internationally, appeared in the acclaimed PBS series Dance in America, and in a television special featuring Diana Ross. She also danced at the Kennedy Center Performance of American Arts for President Jimmy Carter and Vice-Premier of China, Deng Xiapong. Ms.Hilding currently teaches ballet in the area and is on the dance faculty at the University of Kansas. (Ballet).

Paul Hotvedt

Paul Hotvedt has been practicing painting and teaching painting in Kansas since 1993. Prior to that he attended the University of Wisconsin, and received a bachelor's degree in painting from the Tyler School of Art and a master's degree in painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art. He is particularly interested in teaching as a way to observe and facilitate art among people of diverse backgrounds. In his own work he is interested in taking part in very old traditions that are constantly being reborn.
Website
Watch Video

Whitney Jacobs

Originally from Kansas City, Whitney Jacobs moved to Lawrence after receiving her Associates degree to earn a bachelors degree and K-12 certification in Art Education at the University of Kansas. Currently, she is in her last semester of graduate school and teaches Art History and Photography at Topeka High school. This world trotter enjoys traveling abroad and teaching Arts Camps at the Lawrence Arts Center during her summers. She has taught a variety of classes to a range of ages at the Arts Center since 2004. Most recently, her excursions have involved taking high school students to Egypt and China! She is an exploratory artist who enjoys fusing different mediums together. In her free time you can find her photographings of her favorite muse, her 3 year old daughter Scout.

Ann Johnson

Ann Johnson started teaching Integrated Arts for Preschoolers at the Arts Center in the fall of 1991. Ann received her degree in Early Childhood Education from Kansas State University. She taught in early childhood centers in Overland Park and Pittsburgh, Kansas after she finished college and was the director of a Mother's Day Out program in Overland Park before moving to Lawrence.

Heather Smith Jones

Heather joined the preschool staff in January 2004. She has a BFA in drawing and painting from East Carolina University in Greenville, NC and a MFA in painting from Kansas University. Heather has taught both children's and adult art classes at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, TN; at Kansas University; and as a private instructor in drawing and painting. Her work has been exhibited extensively and is represented in several galleries.

Lora Jost

Lora Jost teaches Sketchbook-journaling, Mixed-media Collage, and other creative process classes at the Lawrence Arts Center. She is a freelance artist whose newest body of work, “Linked in Spirit,” is comprised of clayboard drawings, mixed-media collages, and mosaics, and is a visual commentary on daily marvels, focusing on themes that are mundane, whimsical, and socially urgent. Jost’s creative work also includes illustrating, facilitating community art projects, grant writing, and writing. She co-authored with Dave Loewenstein the book Kansas Murals: A Traveler's Guide (University Press of Kansas, 2006) with grant support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Kansas Arts Commission, which received a Kansas Notable Book Award in 2007. Jost holds a BA is Liberal Arts from Bethel College (N. Newton, KS) and an MFA in Nonstatic Forms from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Megan King

Megan King is a Lawrence native who grew up taking classes at the Lawrence Arts Center. She finished her art education with a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she studied fashion design and fiber arts. Her three children have all attended preschool at the Lawrence Arts Center.

Amy Lenharth

Amy Lenharth is a 2007 graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute. She graduated valedictorian with a double major in ceramics and art history, summa cum laude. Her work has shown in numerous art shows and exhibits throughout the Midwest and has been published in several books including Yixing and the West, 500 Teapots, 500 Bowls, 500 Cups, and 500 Animal Figures. She has been featured in Studio Potter magazine (July 09) in an article she wrote tracing her journey in clay.

Amy received her MFA in ceramics from the University of Kansas in 2010. She is currently the ceramics and 3D art instructor at Highland Community College in Highland, Kansas.

Katherine Lindboe

Katherine Lindboe started her Irish Dance training at eight years old with the O'Riada Academy of Irish Dance. She has performed with the O'Riada Academy for artists such as Eileen Ivers and The Elders. In later years, she had the opportunity to serve as a teaching assistant for the Academy. In 2006, Katherine began attending the University of Kansas to study psychology and dance. Since then, she has worked in conjunction with Vox Novus, a collective of musicians and composers, on the 60x60 project to perform Irish Dance choreography set to contemporary music.

In early 2010, Katherine joined the Driscoll Irish Dancers. She continues to showcase her choreography and performance at the Kansas City Irish Fest and Raglan Road Irish Pub. She is offering a beginning Irish Dance workshop for children from August to December 2010 at the Lawrence Arts Center. Katherine is committed to promoting each student's self expression during the creative process, using dance as a medium.

Robbin Loomas

Robbin Loomas, a working photographer for over 25 years, received her BFA in photography from the Kansas City Institute. Working as a freelance photographer in Kansas City, then as head of photography for University Relations at KU, she now has her own photo studio, Sterling Image, in Lawrence, Kansas.

When people look at the artwork produced by Robbin Loomas the first question is, "Is that a photograph or a painting?" the answer is "yes". Robbin feels a whole new world opened up with the development of digital media. Although computer generated art has existed for nearly 35 years, it is the blending of photography, painting and technology that has excited Robbin and other artists.
Website

Jerry Masinton

Jerry Masinton was a Professor of English at KU for 34 years, specializing first in Renaissance drama and later in modern American literature. After retirement in 2001 he taught in the Department of Western Civilization for four years. He now teaches memoir writing at the Lawrence Arts Center and will introduce a new course this winter called "Writing/Other Media." He and Martha Masinton have been married 47 years, have two daughters, and nine grandchildren.

Betsy McCafferty

Betsy started ballet in Wichita, KS as a child. She continued studying as an adult under Deborah Bettinger's program at the Lawrence School of Ballet as well as the Lawrence Arts Center. She has enjoyed opportunities to dance in the Lawrence Ballet Ensemble, the Choreographer's Showcase events, and the Kansas Nutcracker. Betsy teaches preschool ballet, kinder ballet, dancing fairy tales, and beginning ballet classes at the Arts Center. (Preschool Dance, Ballet).

Leslie McCaffrey

Leslie Mccaffrey has degrees in Elementary Education and Public Health from Kansas University. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of several organizations which focus on children's issues. Leslie's children attended the preschool. Leslie is the art teacher in the 2007-2008 Pilot Pre-K Project in Douglas County.

Patricia Middaugh

Pat is licensed in Zumba, Pilates, cycling, and with the Aerobic Fitness Association of America. She has been teaching fitness classes for over 20 years. She has taught at Body Boutique and Parks and Recreation in Lawrence, and is currently teaching Zumba at the Arts Center. (Zumba).

Larry Mitchell

Larry Mitchell is a playwright, father, teacher, director, producer, and sometime actor. He received his BFA in theatre from Emporia State in 2006 and is a candidate for a playwriting MFA from the University Of Arkansas. He is also the resident playwright for The Sustainable Theatre Project in Austin, TX and a member of The Mental Eclectic out of San Diego, CA. His play, American Bear, was part of the 2010 LAC New Play Festival and will run for two weeks this summer in Kansas City as part of She & Her Production's New Play Festival.

Darren Moore

Darren teaches Photoshop Fundamentals and Digital Scrapbooking. He has been working in Photoshop since it's introduction in 1990 ? the same year he received a B.F.A. in design from Fort Hays State University. Since 1996, he has designed for local and national clients in his studio, Titus d, Co. studio.

Pat Nemchock

Pat Nemchock has taught drawing and painting at Lawrence High School for twenty-nine years. Over the years, she was fortunate to receive many teaching honors, but the greatest reward was interacting with her students. When Pat retired, she realized that education was still a passion she wanted to continue. Pat teaches continuing education classes for high school students, and graduate classes for art teachers at The Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and The Kansas City Art Institute. Pat is happy that she will be “home” teaching at the Lawrence Arts Center.

Lori Neuenschwander

Lori received her BA in dance from the University of Kansas in 2005 and has since been teaching ballet and modern throughout the region. Lori spent a year and a half in New York City where she studied mainly with the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre. In modern dance she has studied Lestor Horton technique and is familiar with Doris Humphrey, Jose Limone, and Martha Graham techniques. She joins us from Baldwin Academy of Dance where she has taught for the last six years. She has also danced with companies including the University Dance Company at KU and the New Dance Theatre in Lawrence. She specializes in modern and ballet, but has experience in tap, yoga and Latin dance as well. (Modern Dance).

James Noury

In 2005 I attended my first pottery class. Since then I have worked tirelessly to further my knowledge in the ceramic field, focusing primarily on functional ceramics. In 2009 I graduated from the University of Kansas with a sociology degree. While attending classes, I wiggled my way into the ceramic department and explored every firing technique available to me. Since then, I have been in more than one national exhibition, and have enjoyed teaching both in a class setting and on a one on one basis.

Tim O'Brien

Tim O'Brien has taught Letterpress Printing since the new Arts Center building opened. He loves typography, the manual labor of setting type, and sharing his enthusiasm for printing the old fashioned way. When he is not teaching, Tim gardens, builds houses with straw bales and clay, operates a sawmill and helps with farm chores.

Bryan Park

Bryan Park was born and raised in Greenville, SC. He began studying metalsmithing at The Fine Arts Center in Greenville during high school. He earned his BFA in Metal Design from East Carolina University in 2004 and his MFA in Metalsmithing & Jewelry from the University of Kansas in 2008. Park recently taught and ran the Metalsmithing/Jewelry program at Idaho State University.

Joan Parker

Joan teaches Painting the Natural Landscape classes at the Lawrence Arts Center. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with honors from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. She has been a freelance artist in the motion picture industry and as an original greeting card artist at Hallmark Cards. Her work has been exhibited at the Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in California; Gallery International, MD; Galleries in KS, MO, WY, IL CO, CT and CA. She has participated in twenty five group exhibitions, national juried shows and several one woman shows. Parker has been instrumental in establishing Plein Air painting events in both Kansas and Missouri. She has a passion for the immediacy of painting outdoors and enjoys sharing her love with others.
Email: jbourgeois@kc.rr.com

Shannon Pickett

Shannon has taught and performed ballet and modern dance in the surrounding area for the past 15 years. She received her training at Barbara's Conservatory of Dance in Topeka and danced with Ballet Midwest. She received a BA in dance from the University of Kansas where she was often a soloist with the University Dance Company. Shannon holds an MA in education from Avila University and teaches in the Eudora Public Schools. For the Arts Center Shannon has taught all levels of ballet and was the original Snow Queen in the LAC’s production of The Snow Queen. In December she will dance a different Snow Queen role in the Kansas Nutcracker: Sesquicentennial Edition. She has been on a leave this fall but will return to teaching dance in January. (Ballet).

Sally Frerichs Piller

Sally Frerichs Piller was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1955. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in printmaking at the University of Kansas in 1977. Making woodblock prints has been the primary focus of her art making in her adult life, though she also works in other printmaking techniques such as intaglio, lithography, monotype, letterpress, as well as in many other media, including painting in oil and gouache, ceramics, assemblage, papermaking, and the most important in her opinion, drawing.

Sally has been a member of a weekly life drawing group for many years, has taught adult drawing and printmaking classes at the Lawrence Art Center, taught monoprint and relief printmaking to artist apprentices at Van Go Jams, and guest lectured on the creative process at the University of Kansas. One of her large color woodblock prints was acquired by The Spencer Art Museum, where it was included in an exhibit entitled, “Inspired by Japan”, 2003, which featured 19th and 20th century western art as well as Edo period Japanese masterpieces, and in “Windmills to Workshops, Lawrence and the Visual Arts” in 2004.

In 2007 to 2009, Sally was the owner and director of 6 Gallery, an art gallery in Lawrence . The gallery featured local artists in group shows with topical themes.

Most recently she is has been concentrating on mokuhanga, Japanese woodcut technique, and this summer participated in a workshop with Hiroki Morinoue at Anderson Ranch Art Center in Snowmass Colorado. Next summer she has hopes of attending the 1st Annual Mokuhanga Conference in Kyoto Japan.

Sally lives in a Victorian house in Old West Lawrence with her husband Lynn, their two Siamese cats, Ino and Loki (who lives in Sally’s studio), Isla the Skye terrier, and a Charles Brand press named Baby. She has two children, Kathy, a grad student in classical studies at UCLA, and James, KU grad in Japanese Studies. James and Lynn are well known musicians. The family owns Richard’s Music in Downtown Lawrence. Sally is also a lifelong equestrian and owns three Holsteiner horses.

Susanna Pitzer

Susanna Pitzer is a New York based children's author, illustrator, playwright, and actress who enjoys returning to Kansas regularly to work with her friends at the Lawrence Arts Center. For more information, visit her website: www.susannapitzer.com

Linda Reimond

Linda Reimond is the original director of the preschool program at the Arts Center and currently teaches in two classes. She taught kindergarten in Wichita and Tulsa before her daughter entered preschool. When that happened, Linda started preschool too, and she has never left. She has degrees in Elementary Education from Wichita State University and Early Childhood Education from Emporia State University. She is an adjunct instructor at Washburn University and has been part of an N.E.A. grant to train artists in early childhood arts education.

Hollie Rice

Hollie Rice teaches a variety of classes at the Lawrence Arts Center. Most of the time you can find her in the ceramics studio teaching things like family pottery and Cool Crazy Ceramics. She completed BFA degrees in Ceramics, Sculpture, and Art History from the University of Kansas. Her Masters degree is in Visual Arts Education. She currently teaches High School art in Olathe, KS. Her work can be seen in galleries and exhibitions in and around Lawrence and Kansas City. Hollie usually prefers to work in clay because of its flexible nature and endless array of possibilities; but she is not afraid to include metal, wood, glass, or anything else that can help to communicate a particular idea successfully. Her work ranges from functional ceramics to sculptural objects, and often contains a feeling of lightheartedness and a bit of her playful sense of humor.

Jeff Ridgway

Jeff Ridgway is a local artist who produces humanistic paintings, drawings and sculptures that are in collections throughout the United States and Europe. He has taught Life Drawing and Anatomy for the Artist at the Arts Center for eighteen years. Jeff has also taught Oil Painting, Portraiture and Pastel classes as well as various workshops during his tenure. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Drawing, a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and the Master of Fine Arts in Painting. Jeff is probably best known for his portraiture, which he creates for both commission and whimsy.

Matt Rodríguez

David Matthew Rodríguez, originally from New Jersey, has been dancing for over seven years. He danced on his high school team for two years as their first male dancer. He continued his dance training at Cloud County Community College with a dance scholarship. There he danced as Captain for two years. He graduated with a B.F.A in Dance from the University of Kansas in the fall of 2011.

Matt continues to work with various high school teams and groups around Kansas. He also teaches at a number of different studios across the area specializing in Hip Hop, Jazz and Contemporary dance. He was the dance captain of the Sharks on this summer’s production of West Side Story. Matt’s primary interests are in pop and hip hop dance, and he hopes to become a back-up dancer/choreographer for a traveling musical artist. Matt loves to choreograph and create dances that make people move and feel good. He loves to challenge conventional thought and enjoys taking risks. (Jazz, Boys Dance & Theatre).

Jason Romanishin

Jason Romanishin is a versatile teacher and practicing artist.  He is entering his third year at the Art Center, where he has taught a variety of kid's classes as well as adult darkroom, painting, and drawing. Jason has taught many grade levels in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, California, and Kansas.  He is currently a tenured teacher of art at Bonner Springs High School.  Jason looks forward  to continuing his support of art and community in Lawrence.  Jason Romanishin holds a BSE in Art Education from Millersville University and a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute.      

Tricia Spencer

My experiences growing up in Wyoming, and living and working in Mexico have provided me with a deep resource of stories and images, which can be seen throughout my work. The vibrant colors of Mexico's architectural landscape, and indigenous populations resonate in the stories I tell in my paintings, sculptures and jewelry designs. These images and experiences combined with the raw landscape and textural expressions of Wyoming, have contributed to my development as an artist. My recent work has been focused on teaching and working Plein Air. This has become a passion for me I love following the light and feeling the joy of capturing it as moves across chaotic landscapes working with large brushes and palette knives. Watercolor, oil, egg tempera, and sterling silver are all mediums which I use to communicate the impressions, images and stories I tell in my work. I am also a Visiting Artist and work with art centers across the United States teaching and developing murals and cultural projects in rural and disadvantaged schools. These community projects demonstrate the power of the arts in creating social and economic change and have taught me that we can change the world. The mural and cultural projects create an opportunity for communication and understanding between people of all ages and they take pride in the story of their towns and cultural heritage. Please visit my Facebook page and blog sites: artworkts.blogspot.com and artistictrekkers.blogspot.com to see student work.

Alice Steurwald

Alice is a yoga therapist and licensed massage therapist. She has been teaching yoga in Lawrence for over 25 years, specializing in Shakti, Anusara, Pranayama, Yin, Hatha, and Iyengar. Alice has developed sensory-based somatic techniques that combine breath and sound with dynamic movement to help yoga students unlock their bodies and liberate their minds and spirits. As students begin to enhance their body awareness skills and experience a truer sense of self, they also discover an increased balance and energy on all levels of their lives. Alice continues to seek new ways to unlock the body and liberate the mind and spirit. (Yin Yoga, Body Journeys).

Rachael Sudlow

Rachael graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design. Her Cowscapes series of photographs explored the use of texture & alternative landscapes that can be formed from livestock. Her jewelry work focuses on the natural world, transforming silver & gold into organic pieces such a peapods & flowers. She now runs Sudlow Jewelry, www.rachaelsudlow.com with over 20 locations selling her work worldwide.

Watch Video: Rachael Sudlow pulling an extremely hot crucible out of the furnace and pouring molten metal into a mold.

Elizabeth Sullivan

Elizabeth Sullivan has been a Teaching Artist, Director, Professional Actress, Stage Manager and Theatre Technician in the Lawrence and Kansas City area for nearly four years. She has toured nationally with The Seem-To-Be Players as well as worked with professional companies such as City In Motion Dance and Kanza Film Productions. Her recent production credits include Hamlet and Zombies!!! for Summer Youth Theatre and City Youth Theatre's EAT (It's Not About Food). She is thrilled to be teaching and directing youth at The Lawrence Arts Center.

Maria Thompson

Maria has been dancing since she was three, focusing on ballet, tap, jazz and modern. In 1989, Maria was accepted into the dance program at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During her four years of training at UArts, she studied under Ruth Andrien (Paul Taylor Dance Company), Milton Myers (Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre) and master teachers David Parsons and Bill T. Jones. She also broadened her training by studying under Mia Michaels (So You Think You Can Dance), Eddie Mecca (best known for his role as ‘Carmine’ on “Laverne and Shirley”) and tap masters, LaVaughn Robinson and Phil Black.

In 1993, Maria graduated from the University of the Arts with Bachelor’s of Fine Arts degree in Dance Education and began her career as a dance educator. She has over 17 years of experience of teaching students of all ages in many dance genres. Before moving to Lawrence, Maria owned and directed two locations of Planet Dance studio in New Jersey from 1998-2008. (Preschool Dance, Tap).

Betsy Timmer

Originally from Michigan, Betsy Timmer has lived in Lawrence for the past five years. She has a BFA in painting from Western Michigan University and a MFA in expanded media from the University of Kansas. Since finishing graduate school in 2008, Betsy has taught foundations drawing and design part-time at KU while also working as a independent graphic designer. Betsy's mixed media works are constructed from everyday materials combined to form thought provoking objects or characters. You can see her works at www.betsytimmer.com. When not creating, you can find Betsy rummaging through thrift stores and estate sales, searching for components for her next projects.

Richard Varney

Richard (Dick) Varney has been teaching illustration and drawing at the University of Kansas for the past 30 years; animation for the past ten years. He received his BFA in Illustration from the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, CA and has worked with numerous clients on the local, regional and national level in Los Angeles, CA, Phoenix, AZ and Kansas City, MO areas ever since. His latest animations for the project, Quarked!™ Adventures in the Subatomic Universe, funded by grants from the National Science Foundation and the Kauffman Foundation, have won awards from the regional American Institute of Graphic Arts organization and can be seen at www.quarked.org.

Richard Walker

Singer, instrumentalist, arranger/composer and professional voiceover artist J. Richard Walker has created music for theatrical and film scores as well as various school, church, and professional ensembles in the Midwest and the Pacific Northwest. Over the past 25 years, Richard has also directed various community, church, and professional singing ensembles, and has provided music direction for numerous theatrical productions.

Richard performs regularly in the area, singing with numerous choral groups and playing stand-up bass, bass guitar, guitar, piano, and violin for a variety of local jazz, pop, blues, rock, and world music groups, including his current musical projects: Sassie Mae & The Cornertones/The Yuletide Carolers (doo-wop and seasonal caroling quartet), The Majestics Rhythm Revue (house band at the Jazzhaus), and BongoTini (retro-style lounge music sextet). He also enjoys playing in various Lawrence, Topeka, and Kansas City pit orchestras.

Richard holds undergraduate degrees in English (Creative Writing) and Music Education (Choral Emphasis) and has taught at the secondary level in Kansas public and private schools, including Bishop Seabury Academy (2007-2009).

Nicholas Ward

Nicholas Ward was born in Klamath Falls Oregon and spent most of his early life and schooling in South Dakota where he received a BFA in drawing and painting from the University of South Dakota in 2006. Residing in Kansas since the fall of 2006 Nicholas has recently received an MFA with honors from the University of Kansas. As a practicing artist, Nicholas works between drawing, painting, stop motion animation and Film. Often times combining many of these processes in a single project. It should also be noted that Nicholas is a prolific catcher of turtles and to his knowledge is currently the best at it.

Mary Wharff

Mary Wharff is working on her first novel and has published several short stories. She thinks writing fiction is like painting or composing music -- words create texture, words create sound and rhythm, repetition and cadence can turn a good plot into a great story. She began writing full-time in 1989 as a writer for a fund-raising consulting firm and then, a video production company, both in Atlanta GA. In 1994, she began free-lancing in Atlanta and continued free-lancing when she moved to Lawrence in 1995. In 2005, she completed her MA in Creative Writing at KU and in 2006, she won the Langston Hughes Award for Fiction. She is a co-curator for Big Tent, a reading series sponsored by the Raven Bookstore. She is also the fiction editor for Coal City Review and a judge for the Langston Hughes Award. She lives in Lawrence with her husband, Andy Bloomer, and their adopted four-legged family.

Sarah Wertzberger

Sarah Wertzberger was born and raised in Lawrence, KS. She received here BFA in Painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2003. Her work is primarily sculptural but she also enjoys drawing, painting and printmaking. Sarah teaches a variety of classes within the children's programming at the Arts Center.