Teaching Artists - Adult Classes

 Abrams, Lynn- With a degree in art, Lynn has concentrated on using her design talents doing the unconventional with stained glass, utilizing not only the beauty of the glass, but considering texture, color and the unusual. Her work is in galleries and shops throughout the DC area and locally. Her home studio, D'Lynn Glass Designs Studio, is on the Made in Mathews Studio Tour. See Lynn's current class offerings here.

Adams, Valerie- Valerie was originally trained as a food and textile scientist and teacher, but spent 20 years in corporate finance. She recently returned to an early love of the culinary arts.

Blais, Paul - Paul received a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the University of Minnesota and was a registered Landscape Architect. In a private worked in consulting office that did both public and private work. Some of it was traditional Landscape Design and some was related to private real estate development and expert witness testimony in matters of City Planning and Zoning. Paul later moved on to information technology related to Cities and Counties. In 1998 he became an independent Software Developer and is currently retired. His renewed interest in photography progressed over the years and when Digital Photography was possible it was meant for my past and current passions to come together.  Paul is the winner of the Guinea Jubilee Print Contest in 2016 and 2017.  Paul has lived in Hayes, Virginia on Sarah Creek for the past 14 years with his wife and three dogs.

Brent, Linda- Linda graduated from VCU with a BFA from the Crafts Dept. She is the art teacher at Ware Academy and has lived in the area for 30 years.  She enjoys the freedom to expand what she teaches children at Ware to adults here.

Brown, Rosalie- weaving and basketry

 Brown, Steph- has been self-employed as a graphic designer since 1985. Originally from Pennsylvania, she has always had a love of the arts. Pencil drawings, pen & ink and watercolor are her favorite mediums, which led to teaching classes in PA at the art supply and framing shop she owned from 1999-2006. Her background includes trades show exhibit design, drafting, architectural design, print design and corporate identity development. She enjoys teaching more than anything else, and feels that anyone who has the desire can create- it's just a matter of helping the hand communicate what the heart feels.

 Buzby, Nina Eastman- recently retired after 33 years as an elementary school teacher and administrator. Although she has been involved in many kinds of crafts all her life, Nina was introduced to pine needle basketry in March 2003 at the Bay School. She has been making and designing pine needle baskets ever since. When not making baskets, you can find her playing her cello with Strings & Things in Mathew, Festival Musicians in Kilmarnock and Trio Con Brio in Richmond. She began playing the cello in the Richmond Public Schools when she was 10 and studied privately with Paul Cartwright and Gesila Depcat of the Richmond Symphony. Nina was a member of the Richmond Symphony for 5 years during the 70's, before moving to Mathews.

 Castillo, Adele- Adele Castillo uses a contemporary style to create her animal portraits and pet paintings. She is an artist who has found a niche painting animals in rich, bold color.  She teaches acrylic painting and color workshops. Learn more at adelecastillo.com.

 

Cheney, Saraya - Saraya joined us in 2015 in the new grant-funded position of Outreach Coordinator, since that time she has also taken over the position of Gallery Coordinator. In addition to teaching many of our outreach programs and managing the gallery, she primarily focuses on building relationships with current and potential clients in our community. She believes that the healing and uplifting powers of art can make a real difference in people’s lives and mental health. Saraya considers herself as a “creative tinkerer” as she enjoys working in all artistic media. Her more recent works explore the vast world of acrylics with intuitive painting and hand-built ceramics. Prior to coming to the Bay School, Saraya lived in Turkey and, before that, Northern Virginia, where she taught at a Montessori school. She now enjoys the slower pace of living on the Middle Peninsula and swears she’ll never leave.

 Colligan, Jacquie- In September 2009 Jacquie became an Artist Member of Virginia Watercolor Society. Selection for exhibition in three annual juried shows of the Virginia Watercolor Society distinguished her for this award. Jacquie’s painting Electric Sky was selected in 2011 and won “Award of Distinction”. Another of her pieces was selected to show in the annual Central Virginia Watercolor Guild’s Show in Charlottesville, VA in November 2011. In 2014 “A Beautiful Mind” won Best in Show at the 53rd Annual Labor Day Show at The Rappahannock Art League. 

 Coyle, Virginia- is one of our Outreach teachers. She is a lifelong resident of Virginia. Her paintings are inspired by her family. Virginia is self-taught in all her painting and other skills. Her favorite medium to work with is watercolor, because it is so unpredictable. Virginia loves to paint mermaids, fabrics, children and folk art scenes. She also enjoys being creative by drawing, sewing, and participating in other forms of artistic projects.

 Cutler, Rita- Rita has revived the art of primitive and homespun rug hooking. She is the owner of the Primitively Hooked Studio in Mathews County. Rita combines traditional and new motifs with unique and striking color schemes.

Eide, Karen- holds a BFA from VCU in Richmond, Virginia. She is an award-winning artist whose richly textured encaustic and mixed-media paintings are shown ini exhibitions throughout the country and are collected internationally. Her work draws from an iconography of flora and fauna through which she presents a quiet and contemplative visual dialog of the rural world around her. Several times a year, she offers workshops through the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. See more on her website.

 Edmondson, Gary-was raised in Hampton, Virginia. For the past 29 years, he has lived in Mathews, Virginia. Gary began painting in 1984, after being inspired and taking classes under the guidance of Barkley Sheaks. Gary's work has also been heavily influenced by MAXFIELD PARRISH, JEAN-SIMONE CHARDIN, ODILON REDON, CHARLES ETHAN PORTER and SANFORD ROBINSON GIFFORD. Gifford was a member of the HUDSON RIVER SCHOOL. Gary’s works have been shown in the Morales Art Gallery in Nags Head, North Carolina, as well as The Gallery on the York, Christopher Newport College, and the Bay School Community Arts Center. He has won many awards.

 Flores, Dawn - Dawn is a professional artist and instructor who teaches art courses nationally. She double-majored in art and theater at the Edgewood College, the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and Loyola University in New Orleans, and earned a Certificate in Botanical Art and Illustration from the New York Botanical Garden.

 

 Foster, Melissa- Melissa is a successful basket maker whose work is available through her business- Thyme in a Basket! Her work can be seen in her studio in Tappahannock, Virginia, and in many quality craft shows throughout the state.  

Fuller, Jack- Jack teaches 21 +/- Tai Chi classes each week in Richmond and is looking forward to sharing this wonderful art with those in the Mathews area. Jack welcomes your question calls at 725-3730.

 Griffin, Janet- retired art specialist from Gloucester County Public Schools. I’ve taught in Hampton City Schools before staying at Petsworth Elementary School for the last 25 years. I continue to be a guest teacher at other Gloucester Elementary schools. I certainly enjoyed my teaching of art to young children. I have always been amazed how children can teach me! Now I look forward to learning from adults. I grew-up in a military family, so everything was organized! I graduated from Old Dominion University, Magna cum laude, (that means I worked very hard and had no social life). My work is balanced between the 60” Macomber and 30” Leclerc Looms. My favorite weaving is Theo Moorman’s tapestry technique. I live in Gloucester Courthouse with my husband, Jim and two crazy cats.

 Hackworth, Doris- discovered the joy of wheel thrown pottery in 1981 through community college ceramics classes in CA. Nearly 30 years later in 2009, she took to the wheel again and has been taking classes ever since at the Bay School, the Visual Arts Center in Richmond, Nan Rothwell Pottery in Charlottesville, The Cultural Arts Center in Glen Allen, and the John C. Campbell Folk Art School in NC. Doris’ emphasis is on form and function. She loves making pots that have a job.

 Hayes, Martha- has been a potter for over 30 years. She holds her Business degree from Franklin and Marshall and a BFA from Alfred University. She was a member of Sarah's Creek Potters for 19 years, before moving her studio to Halieford. Learn more at summerhazepottery.com.

 Hollberg, Wanda- Wanda works and resides in Urbanna, VA. With a degree in Fine Arts from VCU, she has owned and operated Greenwood Glass since 1979. Wanda enjoys experimenting with a wide range of subjects. She exhibits at numerous galleries, including the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

 Hollett-Bazouzi, Linda- received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in art from Radford University. She is a landscape painter, represented by galleries in Richmond, Ashland, and Lexington. Hollett-Bazouzi taught art in Henrico County Public Schools for over 35 years. During that time she was awarded recognition at the local and state levels for her art program, and achieved National Board Certification in Early/Middle Childhood Art in 2002. She is a member of Oil Painters of America (OPA), the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society (NOAPS), and the Mid-Atlantic Plein Air Painters Association (MAPAPA). A devoted en plein air painter, Hollett-Bazouzi is currently lead artist for the Virginia Plein Air Painters. She is a docent at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

 Jaouen, Deborah- "My work explores markmaking, patina, and weathering. I collage fabrics and other materials collected over time, sometimes incorporating discarded objects I find on roadsides and beaches. I'm interested in imperfection as the genesis of beauty."  See her on Facebook.

 Krome, Elizabeth - Elizabeth threw her first pot in 1972 in Cambridge, MA, where she had a job editing astrophysics manuscripts. In 1975 she moved back to Virginia to make pots full-time. She was at Sarah Creek Potters in Gloucester from its inception to its closing in 2003; her studio now is at her home in Toano. Working in both high-fire stoneware and porcelain, Elizabeth throws most of her pieces but also enjoys slab work. She has been teaching for more than 40 years.  She has been designated a Virginia Master Artisan.

 

 Latell, John- My decision to work with metal was formed early in life . The event, as I remember it, was a kind of communion with the molten earth. I made a decision, then, based on the mysterious description of a man who lived in the foothills of Virginia. He was a blacksmith. Rural Virginia provided me plenty of opportunities to learn about life on a farm, peer into the vast sky at night, and explore the wild details of nature. The observations from those years contribute to my work today. As a teenager I hiked in the Canadian Rockies and lived in Ecuador, Mexico and Costa Rica. In Mexico, I apprenticed to an artisanal metal shop. www.wicomicoforge.com

 Legault-Davidson, Sue- Paniers by Legault - Sue began weaving baskets in 1996 when co-workers took her to a class at a nearby military base. Her home guild is Tidewater Basketry Guild and additionally belongs to 4 other basket guilds around the country. She traveled to Thorne Bay, Alaska in 2007, 2009 and 2012 to attend an 11 day Pine Needle & Cedar Bark workshop where she studied pine needle basketry with Jeannie McFarland and spruce root basketry with Eliasica Timmerman, a well know Haida weaver. Since attending her first basket convention in 2001, she has attended more than 40 conventions and major workshops around the country. She has received numerous ribbons from the Gloucester County Fair, the Virginia State Fair - including Best in Show, and from the North Carolina Basketry Guild.

Lilly, Greg- writing

Marshall, Wendy- pottery

Miller, Celeste- after nearly 25 years in "Corporate America," Celeste retied to pursue her creative side. Her engineering background and love for "process" attracted her tp stained glass, glass mosaics, and fused glass. The desire to do more with fused glass led to a certification in Precious Metal Clay (PMC) a few years ago/ When PMC students wanted to make bracelets for their PMC pieces, she took a number of classes in chain maille and became "addicted" to the ancient art. Celeste currently works part-time for JoMoCo Studio in Richmond, VA and loves teaching a variety of classes in the Richmond area. Celeste and her husband enjoy their two rescue dogs and travel and golf in their spare time. 

Moore, Janice- is a lawyer by vocation, a cook and gardener by avocation.  Now a resident of Deltaville, VA, she has been cooking with tofu for almost 20 years, after deciding that the estrogen benefits would be worth the effort to learn about this mysterious protein- and estrogen-packed ingredient.  Janice learned about cooking with tofu from lots of research, travels to Asia, friendly Thai restaurant chefs and lots of trial and error cooking for her very patient friends and family.

 Nazarenko, Doña - Residing in Tunbridge, Vermont, Doña Nazarenko has been weaving since 1988 and teaching since 1994.  While living along the New Jersey coast, Doña developed an interest in woodcrafts and related art forms that developed into her desire to take basket making classes in 1988. Her exploration of a different art medium has since evolved into a flourishing talent.  She now enjoys making traditional baskets using reed with wooden accents to more challenging baskets using birch bark from the area surrounding her current residence in rural Vermont.

 Noffsinger, Kathleen- is an award-winning watercolor artist from Deltaville, Virginia. Her colorful paintings include lively renderings of wildlife and nature from the Chesapeake Bay, the Florida Keys and Bermuda. Working with "purist" watercolor techniques in a style that she calls" impressionistic realism",Kathleen's goal is to capture on paper a memorable and creative moment in time. Her limited edition prints are found at many fine art galleries on the East Coast and her paintings have been purchased for both private and corporate collections throughout the world. For information about her limited edition prints, original paintings, classes or workshops, she may be reached through her web site www.kathleennoffsinger.com

Perrin, Marjorie- has been painting and teaching in Richmond, Virginia since 1985. She graduated with honors from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1984 and received awards for landscape painting in oil and figurative work in watercolor. Marjorie has been teaching at The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Studio School, since 1989.

 Peterson, Dale- 20 years with professional Pottery Studio and 30 years in various High Schools – presently I teach Adv. Art and Digital Media at Christchurch School near Saluda. I have a lot of portfolios available on-line at http://dalepeterson.us   -- these include pottery, Computer CAD, Traditional Painting and Drawing  -- lately I have been very involved with 3D pen drawing.

Robinson, Joslyn- has been writing since 1992 and is a recent graduate of Goddard College where she earned her MFAW in Creative Writing. She also holds a BA in Writing and Transpersonal Studies from Burlington College. She has had two articles published: The Formidable Fairy Tale: A Writer’s Guide, and Exploring The Hero’s Journey: A Writer’s Guide.  Each is part of a series she is writing for the on-line writer juried literary journal, The Artifice. The articles are a casual scholarly exploration of the uses and interpretations of fairy tales and myths from a Jungian perspective in literary and popular genre.  She writes as RJ Wolfe. In addition to her graduate level teaching practicum: a community playwriting course at Oldcastle Theatre Company in Bennington, Vermont, Joslyn has taught a graduate level workshop on myths and fairytales at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont. Joslyn is a recent transplant from Vermont and now resides in Virginia with her boyfriend, and fellow Goddardian, Rob.

 Rothwell, Nan - I started making pots in England, where I studied in private studios and at the Harrow School of Art. Since 1973, I’ve been a studio potter in Virginia. I make functional stoneware pottery that I sell in a variety of settings including juried exhibits, solo shows and galleries. I also teach pottery at City Clay in Charlottesville and at multiple outside venues.  My son and I made two teaching DVD's that were published by Ceramic Arts Daily.  Last month, a new online teaching company called TeachinArt.com filmed me for a six-week throwing course that will be published soon. 

 

 

 Quesenberry, Cynthia- is eager to introduce and inspire students to explore the exciting world of the visual arts using a unique combination of education and experience coupled with strong background as a working artist. She hold Masters Degree in Resources Management and Bachelors Degree in Art Education and is dedicated to enthusiastic and dynamic teaching as a means of creating and nurturing a lifelong love of learning.  “My ability to motivate students and share a lifetime love of learning fosters a successful classroom environment..”  

Sharp, Kat- Yoga

 Sikes, Mary MontagueColor and texture define the work of painter and photographer Mary Montague Sikes. As a child growing up in Fredericksburg, she adored new crayons and classroom art. While earning a degree in psychology at the University of Mary Washington, she took elective art classes. Later, she received an art teaching license at the College of William and Mary where she discovered a love of sculpture and where she developed a life-long fascination with acrylic paints. Working both in oil and acrylics, she earned a MFA in painting from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Singer, Susan- Susan Singer is difficult to pin down as an artist unless one recognizes that her ultimate goal is to mindfully follow her leadings, regardless of how diverse they may be. She began her artistic career drawing herself and friends, pregnant and about to bring forth new life. After that, she created massive pastel paintings of scars to come to terms with her sons’ life-saving operations. She drew Twelve Naked Men to draw attention to society’s tendency to objectify women, but not men, then painted over 50 life-size female nudes to help women recognize the gorgeousness of their bodies regardless of their size or shape. Recently she has focused on a life-long delight in patterns and has created a product called Triangle Play to encourage creative play.

 Skerrett, Bobbie- pottery

Smith, Dee- "Knitting is my passion. I have been knitting over 30 years and 15 of those years have been in production and sample knitting. Teaching people to knit is a joy and hope that my passion for the craft inspire the student as well."

Sweezey, Mary- is the administrative assistant for the VMFA Studio and is a professional artist. She has a BFA from VCU and an MFA in fibers from Arizona State University.

White, Rachel Sawan- graduated in June, 2000 from Loughborough University School of Art and Design with honors in Fine Arts Printmaking. White studied bookmaking and bookbinding at LUSAD, including traditional and experimental techniques.

 Wynn, Christopher- Christopher majored in fine art at the University of Washington, Seattle, and the University of California Berkeley, where he graduated with a B.S.. Further art studies include Otis Parsons art institute and Santa Monica JC, and Foothill JC in Los Altos, CA.  After graduating, he worked for years as an art director and creative director for numerous corporations and advertising agencies on the West Coast. In 1992 he began wynncreative.com and produced artwork and campaigns for many of Silicon Valley's largest and most successful companies.  He now lives and teaches watercolor in Virginia.