Sonoma Community Center
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SCC’s Ceramic Program coordinator. Forrest received a BFA from the New York State School of ceramics at Alfred University and and MFA from Utah State University. Forrest has been a resident artist at the Watershed Center for Ceramics in Newcastle, ME, and two years in residence at the Mendocino Arts Center. He is the co-founder of the Center for Ceramic Arts and Sebastian Ward Gallery in Berkeley, CA. His work is exhibited nationally, most recently at the Atrium Gallery in Muncie, Indiana, and Akar Gallery in Iowa City, IA.
received her BFA and MFA from the University of Georgia and attended the College of Marin. She taught ceramics in the Sonoma Unified School District, Froebel School in Sonoma, The School of Arts & Sciences, Marin Country Day School, the Dixie School District in Marin County, and the University of Georgia Adult Education Classes. Beverly is the potter at the LaHaye Art Center and has been learning from clay for over 35 years. She is a Sonoma Treasure Artist, a member of the Association of California Clay and Glass Artists, and Bolinas Craft Guild.
Michiko Kinoshita
began studying ceramics in her home country of Japan. She received her MFA from San Diego State University in CA. Through her studies, Michiko has developed a style of work that bridges both Japanese and American ceramic traditions. She has taught ceramics classes at San Diego State University, Santa Rosa Junior College, and the Louxing Academy of Fine Art in China. Her work has been exhibited throughout the US and abroad.
holds an MFA from the University of Washington in Ceramics, Painting, and Textiles, and a BS from San Jose State University in Interior Architecture. While residing in Seattle, she founded and directed The Factory of Visual Art for ten years and was an instructor at The Factory of Visual Art and University of Washington. Currently in Sonoma, Lin is a commissioner of the City of Sonoma’s Cultural and Fine Arts Commission and actively works with the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art as a member of the Exhibition Committee, an ARTS mentor, and Art History Coordinator. Her paintings, ceramics, and textiles are in private and public collections and museums nationally. Lin has just been named Sonoma Treasure Artist for 2009-2010.
David Williams
David “Doctor of Dance” Williams has been a competitive dancer and professional instructor since 2001. He enjoys proficiency in a number of dances, but his main focus and passion is in Salsa Dancing.
Cliff Hugo
Cliff comes to us with 35 yrs experience as a teacher, a studio musician in Los Angeles and has toured worldwide and recorded with Ray Charles, Supertramp and Melissa Manchester to name a few.
Nuala Creed
earned her BFA in Ceramics from California College of the Arts. She has exhibited widely in the US and abroad. Her exhibition history includes the Gangjin Celadon Festival, Gangjin, Korea 2009, SOFA New York, N.Y. 2009, and Ceramics Annual America, San Francisco 2010. Creed is known for her ability to translate social and political narratives through expressive sculptures of the human figure.
Ditte Jensen
is a Dutch painter whose practice centers on Old Master techniques. Jensen studied at the Akademie Minerva of Fine Arts in Holland and the Art Students League in New York City. She was awarded a residency at Vermont Studio Center and has taught at the Terpentign school of painting in Holland.
Teddy Elston
received her BFA from the California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, and has been a full-time studio artist since 1965. Her work has been exhibited throughout the world and is held in private and public collections.
Nina Antze
is a botanical artist and quilt maker living in Sonoma County. She has a degree in Fine Art from San Francisco State University and a Certificate in Botanical Illustration from the New York Botanical Gardens. Her quilts have won numerous awards and her botanical paintings have been exhibited in New York and at the Huntington Library Art Collections and Gardens. She works in colored pencil, graphite, and watercolor.
A native-born German, Brigitte brings two decades of education and experience to her work as a printmaker. She is a graduate of both the School of Art and Art Therapy in Munich, Germany. She later studied Printmaking at Santa Cruz Junior College and specifically, Mono Print at Il Bisonte in Italy. She has exhibited throughout Germany and the US and has been featured in various major art periodicals.
Mary Neuer-Lee
has been a metal artist since 1969 and is a certified Level Two PMC Instructor and a member of the PMC Guild. She has her own production line of sterling silver and copper hand-wrought ornaments and jewelry, and has shown in many galleries including Shidoni Gallery, Santa Fe, NM; Eureka Gallery, NY; Wolfards Gallery, Santa Rosa, CA; Earthworks, Sonoma; and The Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite National Park. Mary has a jewelers Certificate from Santa Rosa Junior College and Revere Jeweler’s Academy in San Francisco.
is a professional actress with more than 25 years experience. She has acted on stage, in commercials, television dramas and three films. She is a member of three actor’s unions. Nellie served as Assistant Director for five student productions at Sonoma Country Day School. She has taught many acting classes for young people in Santa Rosa and San Francisco.
Arthur Gonzalez
is a Professor of Ceramics at California College of the Arts. He is a four-time recipient of the National Endowment of the Arts award and has had more than 40 one-person shows over the last 25 years. Gonzales has participated in numerous artist residencies, including those at the University of Georgia, Athens; Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge; Penland School of Crafts, North Carolina; the University of Akron; and most recently at Tainan National University of the Arts in Taiwan. He holds a BA and MA from California State University, Sacramento and an MFA from the University of California, Davis.
Keith Wicks
brings over thirty years of teaching experience to Sonoma Community Center. He is a member of the faculty at the Academy of Art University San Francisco. Wicks is also the founder and president of the Sonoma Plein Air Foundation, a local non-profit organization dedicated to expanding the role of art education for children in Sonoma Valley. An artist member of the California Art Club, Wicks’ paintings have been jury selected for such prestigious events as the 92nd Gold Medal Juried Exhibition at the Pasadena Museum of History and the renowned Sausalito Art Festival. At SCC, Wicks offers “The Figure’s Mood in Plein Air,” an intensive workshop on painting the figure outdoors.
Ann Fursman Nix, MA, CHHT
was a professional artist for 25 years before turning to consciousness work. She holds a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology and is a certified Clinical Hypno-therapist. Ann’s passion is using art as a tool for transformation.
Deborah Hill, MA, MFT
is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She brings insights gained through 19 years of private practice to her work with women in transition. Deborah currently facilitates bereavement groups at Willmar Center.
is recognized internationally as a Breathexperience teacher and trainer in professional and personal growth programs, workshops, classes, and individual hands-on (breath dialogue) sessions. She has recently participated as a soloist and group dancer in “Odem—Breath Moves Body, Soul, and Spirit”, a breath dance experience at the U.C. Berkeley Art Museum, and one of the breathexperience practitioners in a research study at UCSF which showed beneficial results for patients with chronic low back pain. She has been a presenter at U.S. Association for Body Psychotherapy national conferences, is an author, education consultant, and artist.
Don Gillaspie, RN
has practiced Yang style Tai Chi Chuan (TCC), as taught by Cheng Man-ch’ing, for 33 years. He is a certified instructor and a senior student of Benjamin Lo. He currently teaches in Marin and Sonoma and in an RN with Hospice by the Bay.
Cynthia Tarr has amazed audiences as a live performer and studio musician in Los Angeles for over 20 years. Cynthia’s accomplishments include creating and recording songs with Keb’ Mo’, Manhattan Transfer and Dori Caymmi, among others. Cynthia has utilized her dual vocation as a singer and a healer to teach and inspire in both casual and corporate settings.
Jon has been a guitar player and teacher for over 40 years.Jon has taught his popular Electric Blues class in Sonoma since 2000. He has multiple degrees in music, including a BA in Jazz Guitar, and is working on his Orff Schulwerk Certification. Jon has a full-time job as a music teacher at Marin County School.
has been dancing for over 50 years, as performer on stage, in Ballroom and Latin dance competitions, as choreographer, and in “Learn To Dance” instructional videos. He has a passion for teaching, and also uses his well-honed skills to instruct Blind and Visually impaired people, to tap and social dance. Gene is known for making learning to dance fun and easy, even if you think you have two left feet.
Rhinannon Alpers
is a papermaker, letterpress printer and book artist. She holds an MFA in Book and Paper Arts from Columbia College Chicago and a BA in Book Arts from UC Santa Barbara, College of Creative Studies. Alpers has taught workshops and college courses at San Francisco Center for the Book, Kala Printmaking Institute, Academy of Art University of San Francisco, Stanford University, Filoli Gardens Estate, Center for Book and Paper in Chicago, and Santa Reparata School of Art in Florence, Italy.
Catheryn Austin
will teach From Trash to Treasure: Art as Object, an exploration of “green” design and mixed media techniques for repurposing found objects into works of art. The class will meet Thursdays from April 14-May 19th from 6:00-9:00 pm. A longtime resident of the Bay Area, Austin brings three decades of experience in fine art, design, and commercial illustration to her classes. Her faux paintings have graced restaurants, commercial projects and private residences throughout Sonoma County, Marin and San Francisco.
Faculty
We are proud to showcase our diverse and talented Arts Education faculty.
