Natalia Arbelaez
Natalia Arbelaez is a first generation Colombian American, born and raised in Miami, Florida. She received her B.F.A. from Florida International University and her M.F.A. with a concentration in ceramics and sculpture from The Ohio State University, where she received an Enrichment Fellowship. Natalia has participated in several residencies, such as, Art South; Homestead, Florida, Belden Brick Factory; Sugarcreek, Ohio, and at the Clay Art Center; Port Chester, New York as a Barbra Rittenburg Fellow. She was awarded the Inaugural Artaxis Fellowship that funded a residency to the Watershed Center for the Ceramics Arts in Newcastle, Maine. Her work has been exhibited nationally, in museums, galleries, and included in various collections. She currently lives, works, and teaches ceramics in several art centers and colleges throughout New York.

Deborah Beck
Deborah earned a BA with Honors in Fine Arts from Brandeis University, receiving a special departmental first prize award in painting. She went on to complete her MA in Art Education from New York University, then continued her art studies at the Art Students League, Parsons School of Design, and the School of Visual Arts, as well as at numerous workshops. Believing in the transformative power of art in peoples’ lives, Beck taught art and drug prevention education in the public schools for many years, and continues to conduct art residencies and workshops in a variety of educational settings for both children and adults, as a teaching artist through such organizations as Arts Westchester. She is an active member of a number of art organizations, including National Association of Women Artists, Pen and Brush Club, Katonah Museum Artists’ Association and New York Artists Equity Association. The artist has exhibited extensively in both solo and group shows in museums and galleries in the city, state and nation, such as at the Arkell Museum at Canajoharie, NY and at the Horticultural Society of New York. Publications include American Psychologist, Brandeis Review and Women Artists Datebook.

 

Sarah Bell
Sarah Bell is a graduate of SUNY New Paltz with a Master of Science in Visual Arts Education. She currently teaches in the Carmel Central School District. Her favorite medium is oil painting, and her personal artwork focuses on portraiture of people and animals. Sarah also enjoys working with clay, creating both decorative and functional pieces.

George B. Davison
In 1980, George received a B.F.A. with honors from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. He continued his studies and in 1983 received an M.F.A. in Ceramics from Illinois State University. George currently has a studio at his home in Patterson, New York. He has shown his pottery and ceramic sculpture on the regional and national levels including most recently the Brookfield Craft Center, “A Legacy of Fine Craft” (2011), Gallery 66 NY in Cold Spring, solo show, “Spirit Shadows” (2016), and participation in “Art East” studio tour, (2015, 2016) and upcoming in the fall of 2018.

George has taught ceramics on all levels from kindergarten through college for over 30 years. He taught ceramics on the college level at Illinois State as a graduate assistant, and as a professor at St. John’s University and Hampton University in Virginia. In 2017, George retired from public school teaching after running the ceramics program at White Plains H.S. for twenty-six years (1991- 2017).  He taught all levels of ceramic art there from beginner to advanced.

George’s ceramic artwork is inspired by both Japanese and Native American Art. In 2002, he was awarded a Fulbright Memorial Fund scholarship to Japan. George continues to explore alternative firing techniques such as raku, pit-firing, and seaweed saggars. In April of 2018, George had a solo exhibition at the Hudson Beach Glass gallery in Beacon, New York entitled “Walks of Life”.

Jeanne Demotses
Jeanne’s primary medium is oil. She also often works in watercolor, acrylic, pastel, monotype and collage. She experiments in making her own paper to use as a ground for her pastel work, and uses the paper as a collage element. Her work ranges from the figurative to the abstract and often combines aspects of both. Jeanne’s paintings are in many collections in the U.S. and in Europe. She maintains a studio in Peekskill and is a member of that community’s growing artist district. In addition to her classes at the Putnam Arts Council, she also teaches oil and watercolor painting at other schools, and portrait painting in her studio. Jeanne studied art at Hunter College, the Art Students League and the Westchester Art Workshop.

Sarah Gilchrist
A working visual artist and educator, Sarah introduces children to style and medium by showing them the work of great artists through history and then she encourages them to develop their own techniques, in pastel, watercolor, collage and other media, with light, fun, and playful presentations and activities. She has a Master of Arts degree in education from Manhattanville College and she studied in Italy as well.

Karen Herbst
An artist-educator and workshop instructor, her interests include children’s book illustration, painting, printmaking, mixed media collage and exploring the image-word connection in her art journals. She encourages experimentation with many art forms and believes there are no mistakes in the creative process, only opportunities to learn and grow. She received her BS in Art Education from Kuztown State University and her MA in Studio Art from the College of New Rochelle and has recently retired after teaching art for 32 years in the Pleasantville school district.

Mary Jane Houdina
Mary Jane has had a varied and prolific past in the performing arts. She was associate choreographer for the movie THE GREAT GATSBY and tap consultant for Peter Allen at Radio City Music Hall. On Broadway, she was associate choreographer for the original ANNIE, and choreographer for INTO THE LIGHT. Regional theatre productions have seen her work in a myriad of musicals, including OKLAHOMA! star Jean Stapleton, FOLLIES star Juliette Prowse, and SHOWBOAT star Gavin MacLeod. She is the 1998 Barrymore Award recipient for her choreography for CRAZY FOR YOU at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia, and Barrymore nominee in 2001 for SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN, and in 2006 for 42nd ST. On TV she choreographed The ADVENTURES of SLIM GOODBODY IN NUTI-CITY for Captain

Dr. Bernie Kessler
Bernie Kessler has been an award winning photographer for over 50 years, exploring and celebrating the beauty of nature, including human nature. His images have been exhibited internationally and are in corporate and private collections. He is recognized as an outstanding teacher. His ease of style creates a non-threatening learning environment. Students have fun and feel very personally inspired as they improve their photographic skills.

Robin Kline

The first time she saw someone throw a pot on the wheel, Robin knew it was something she had to try. While working full time, she pursued her goal and learned to throw pots in adult education classes at the Brookline Center for the Arts, Truro Center for the Arts and at Artworks at the West Side YMCA. Through a combination of passion and persistence she honed her skills as a potter over the past several decades. She is happy to have finally achieved her dream to work full time at her craft in her own home studio in Peekskill.

Robin is a prolific potter who loves to interact with the clay’s vitality. The process of throwing, forming a pot on the wheel, is all consuming and she finds true joy in refining forms from clay to create finished pottery that can add pleasure to everyday living and special occasions.

She has exhibited her work at multiple venues and galleries in New York City, Westchester, Rockland and Putnam Counties. Robin loves to share her knowledge and enthusiasm for pottery and has taught at the Mugi Pottery in NYC, the JCC of Manhattan, Pottery on Hudson and the Peekskill Clay Studios.

Paul Kmiotek  
I consider myself to be kind of an illusionist. By simply scribbling, in a process of tightly controlled chaos, on a blank piece of paper with a fine-point pen, I can trick the observer’s eye into seeing what I want it to see; a jaguar peering from beneath a bush, a barn falling into disrepair, two men chatting on the street, etc.

My work has been displayed, among other places, at the Ridgewood Art Institute, the Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum, the Belle Levine Art Center, The Flywheel Gallery, and the Lake Carmel Arts Center. I currently live in the Hudson Valley with my beautiful wife and two awesome children.

Deb Lecce
In 1971, while still in high school, she first embraced clay. As she wandered the halls searching for the stone carving room, she stumbled upon the clay studio. Looking back at it now, this was and is the only time that she had ever been grateful for her lack of directional skills. She observed the students at their wheels, and the hand builders shaping expression into developing forms. She was enamored. From this moment on she knew that clay was my passion. The potter’s wheel is her primary tool. It allows her to create a canvas for embellishment while also challenging the physical boundaries of the medium. Wavering rims, darted forms, and paddled surfaces help her discover which direction a piece will go. She has attended Alfred University, Penland, Haystack, as well as Peters Valley. She co-created Clayworks on Columbia, Brooklyn, NY.

Kati Mac
Singer Songwriter Kati Mac has a varied career as an indie musical
artist and session singer and songwriter. As well as singing on many
tv and radio commercials, she has sung with artists such as Meat Lof,
Sting, Jackson Brown, Michael Bolton and Nona Hendryx.
Her songs have been nominated for 7 Daytime Emmy awards and she
currently writes for The Young and The Restless.
She has also just released her 7th cd called “Songs Of Revolution
Songs Of Peace”. https://katimacmusic.com/music She is also a new
children’s book author. Her book series “The Secret Adventures Of
Scruffy MacMuffin” can be found at
https://katimacmusic.com/the-secret-adventures-of-scruffy-macmuffin-canine-superhero-and-dog-vacation
She studied theater Arts at NYU and has a Masters degree in Music
Composition from Purchase College.
She likes to teach her vocal technique to all ages and all styles She
knows it will improve range, placement, connection and confidence!

Rosalie Marcus
Rosalie is a painter, illustrator, and graphic designer.  She has exhibited her paintings in New York, New Jersey, Colorado, Nova Scotia, and California.  Her art work has been reviewed in many newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, The Bergen Record (NJ), and ArtNews Magazine.  Rosalie has also designed books, fabric, housewares, brochures and corporate logos for such clients as Warner Communications, King Features, Bloomingdales, and The National Organization of Women.  She was also an art director for a housewares company.  She attended Cornell University, got her BFA from Nova Scotia College of Art & Design, and her MFA from California Institute of the Arts.  Locally, Rosalie has taught art workshops at the Mahopac Public Library, at the after school program at Fulmar Road School, and is presently teaching drawing and painting at PAC.

Pat McDermond
Psychology and working with people in relation to art
As a child it was apparent I loved making art. Taking classes throughout high school, my interest in art was supported by my parents. Graduating with a B.F.A in painting, I was awarded two full scholarships from Kansas City Art Institute, the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine and the Max Beckman scholarship at the Brooklyn Museum.

My interest in art has been a lifelong interest as evidenced by work I created. However the challenge of making a living has taken me down a zig-zag career path. Along the way I found my interest in psychology, and working with people in relation to art to be a familiar theme.

I conducted activities in long-term mental institutions before training in art therapy at Hahnemamn Medical Hospital in Philadelphia. I worked in the field of mental health for ten years, my last position as a Program Supervisor at Childville, a residential treatment center for severely disturbed children.

The time came I knew I needed a change, I thought to myself, you have never competed, you wimp! That insight led to a sharp turn in my career path. Living in New York City, I thought my artistic sensibility could be applied to commercial art. After taking a class in how to make mechanicals, I got my first job doing mechanicals and learned typesetting on the job.

Working freelance as a production artist initially, I worked as an independent contractor in the commercial world of advertising and promotion in NYC. By taking classes and “on the job” experience, I eventually developed skills as a digital artist and designer, working extensively for advertising agencies, design firms and corporate communication divisions. The last few years I worked exclusively for book publishers where I designed and illustrated covers and chapter openers and prepared specifications for book production.

I also taught computer graphic applications at three colleges in NYC, The New School Computer Instruction Center, Parsons School of Continuing Education and The Fashion Institute of Technology.

Recent teaching experience
Awarded a grant from Lifetime Arts to teach seniors at Pound Ridge library
April 2013-June 2013

An eight-week drawing class, Drawing sessions included instruction is basic drawing skills to enable participants to create composition with objects based on associated memories. This work was shown at the library at the conclusion of the course.

Garrison Art Center,  January 2018-February 2018

Lynn Shulman
Lynn lived and worked in Manhattan as a graphic designer and Art Director of The Public Employee Press for many years. After moving to Westchester she began pursuing her dream to become a fine artist. Watercolor became her medium of choice and has remained so to this day.
Soon she was successfully entering juried shows throughout Westchester and Connecticut followed by solo shows in Yorktown, Shrub Oak, Mahopac and Somers, NY.
She has taught drawing and watercolor privately and also adult classes for The Yorktown Parks and Rec. Dept., The Putnam Arts Council, The Somers Library and currently on-going classes at the Heritage Hills art center in Somers, NY.
Lynn’s art education background includes The University of Ill., The New School, NYC, The Art Students League NYC, The Brooklyn Museum and various classes in Westchester County.
Her work has its roots in her lush childhood environment in a small Alabama town and the complex mysteries of memory.

Mark Snyder
Mark was formally trained at Juilliard and is a published and recorded composer. Mark is an experienced and accomplished instructor who has taught many piano students throughout the county, and is still doing so. He has appeared in TV, in the movies, in many theaters and on many sets throughout the years. Mark’s stage credits include Fagin in Oliver, Doolittle in My Fair Lady, Creon in Antigone, Captain in Mr. Roberts, Frank in Over the River and Through the Woods, Norval in Dearly Departed, Maurice inSocial Security and most recently, Erronius in A Funny Thing Hpppened on the Way to the Forum.

James Sparks
Jim is a prolific painter and photographer whose work has been shown and collected country-wide. His special talent and energetic style as a teaching artist is widely known. His experience ranges from elementary level on up, with particular emphasis on college level instruction in art history, drawing, photography and painting (College of Mt. Saint Vincent, Bronx Community College, Connecticut Institute of Art and others). His BFA in Painting is from Washington University and MFA from the University of Southern California.

Joann Zwolski
Joann works with a wide variety of mediums. Her work visually expresses a passion for line and color. Her palette is full of brilliant hues from a wide spectrum. She combines both abstract and thematic elements in her “works on paper”. She has exhibited through solo and group shows in the tri-state area and Delaware. Joann received her BFA from Pratt Institute and her MA from the College of New Rochelle. She has taught art for over thirty-five years to students from kindergarten to high school and has been teaching adults drawing for the past several years in a variety of places.